Lurking Within Part One
by Despoina
Summary: Haruno Sakura, you are my successor." Gaa/Saku/Neji, Naru/Hina, one sided Sasu/Saku; REWRITTEN!
1. 00

**REWRITTEN!** I have found my chapter guideline and due to some contradictions, I have chosen to re-write some chapters or parts. Please read to refresh your memory!

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**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto, that much is given. (I'm only putting this up once)

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**Lurking Within**  
_(Part 1 of the trilogy)  
---_

**Chapter 00: Prologue**

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Her breath quicken and her heart pounded as she raced through the forest. She was in search for someone worthy, someone who will become her successor. A harsh howl broke the tensed atmosphere, spurring her to break into a faster run. She could feel the others' presence behind her. She snapped her head back and gave a snarl, baring her teeth as her feet still continued to run; dodging and turning through the thick forest. A dark force leaped from behind and tackled her, knocking her off the trees. A pair of ivory wings sprouted from her back, helping her land roughly to the ground. Their heavy breathing was everywhere. It was suffocating. Precious life dripped out from her side and with each moment that passed, she was slowly slipping away. Shaking her head vehemently, she gathered all the strength she had left and pushed harder; she had to make it out alive. From beneath her tattered kimono, a long and fuzzy tail emerged. Wrapping it around her wound tightly, she hoped to borrow some more time. Emitting another snarl, she gathered some chakra in her feet and speed off to the best of her ability. Above her the pounding of their footsteps echoed in the quiet forest and she knew there was only little time before they attack once more.

There!

She could see fire and a village, this was her only chance. Her bloody tail furrowed away and her wings disappeared in a burst of feathers as she neared the village entrance.

Grabbing the closest guard within her reach, she played the damsel in distress and fell apart in his arms. Everything from then was a blur, she could hear the fading sounds of fighting as the guard raced to the closest medical facility. Soon, she can feel it, she shall claim a successor. Her entire being tingled as she neared their destination; her successor was there. She felt herself being passed to another before placed on a bed.

"Call for Haruno!"

The medics around her were bustling around, trying to save what was left of her life. Her clothes were ripped away for a closer look. "Her wounds, they are healing on their own!" The medic stumbled back and the door slammed open, "I'm here! State situation."

It was pure instinct, as she was told it would be. Not even analyzing the girl she was about to claim, she acted. Snapping open her eyes, she took a bite. Ignoring the blood that gushed forth, she pushed all her life and powers into the girl. She faintly heard the girl gasp in surprise as others tried to pry them apart. A flick of her tail soon solved that problem.

"Alert Tsunade-sama!" The medic screamed, her voice shaking in fear.

She didn't know who came to the rescue of this young girl, but she barely had enough energy to fight the savior. She had lost too much blood. With the last amount of strength in her, she felt a part of her slipped into the girl's mind. Releasing her grip on the unconscious girl, she gave a small sigh as her tail disappeared and her eyes lost its sharpness. A pair of wings, however, appeared and enveloped her in its cocoon. She allowed a smirk to grace her face. Ah, so it was the demon who has chosen the girl, not the angel.

The door to the room slammed open with such a force, the door almost fell off its hinges. She slowly turned her eyes to the entrance. A blond woman was standing there in disbelief as she stared at the girl on the floor. Crossing the room, the blond woman held on to the unconscious girl tightly.

"Sakura..." She whispered.

Her eyes were filled with pain at the sight of the bloodied girl laying unconscious with blood gushing down her neck. The woman's eyes turned and stared accusingly at the winged woman on the bed, "What have you done to her!"

The darkness became was slowly closing in, consuming her numbing body. It was evident that her body was begin to shut down.

With her last breath, she muttered an apology and said, "Haruno Sakura, you are my successor."

And with that, she became dead to the world.

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	2. 01

**Lurking Within**  
_(Part 1 of the trilogy)  
-_

**Chapter 01: Shadows of a Dream**

All she saw, all she felt, was darkness. It surrounded her and it consumed her. Lithe fingers reached out in hopes of grasping something, anything that would give light to this field of shadows. With her efforts in vain, she retracted her hands and huddled into a ball. Here, seconds felt like minutes, then minutes became hours, and hours slowly ticked into days. She had lost count in the amount of days she sat, huddled. In the vast darkness of nothing, Sakura was beginning to question her own sanity.

Was she slowly dying?

Or was she dead?

Is this what death felt like?

It was definitely different from what she had in mind. Her curtain of bubble gum pink hair wrapped around her trying, in vain, to protect her from the darkness that was slowly seeping into cracks of her mind.

_"Haruno..."_

The said girl raised her head slowly. Emerald eyes groped the shadows for something, or someone.

"Who's there?"

Her own voice bounced back at her, reminding her of the void emptiness. Her own voice contrasted with the whispering voice she could have sworn she heard; that voice was full of dark intent. Ignoring what she heard as a figment of her deteriorating sanity, she resumed her mindless sleep. Acting out of pure instinct, Sakura leaped into the air. The spot she once sat hibernating was claimed by daggers. Her Jounin training gave a jump-start and she quietly waited. Plucking the lingering dagger on the floor, Sakura flung it at a sound to her right.

_"Haruno, Sakura..."_

Sakura furrowed her brow, it knew her name. Her emerald eyes gave a flash before she once more threw a dagger to her left. "Come out and face me, coward!" The voice gave a shrill laugh and a wave of chakra came at her, knocking her off her feet. _"Coward?_ _I was right in front of you, coward."_ She took a step back as soon as she got to her feet and threw a punch, only to meet thin air. _"My dearest child, you cannot harm me. I am now a part of you."_ Cold amber eyes appeared from the darkness and a body slowly followed. "W-what are you?" Sakura stuttered. Her eyes widen as the figure walked closer.

_"I am you."_

The figure stood tall on its four legs. Looming over her by a good three or four feet, the figure was quite a frightening sight to behold.

_"My name is Itzal. I am part of your soul. Without me, you will not survive."_

The pink-hair girl continued to stare at the being in front of her and uttered a squeak. "What are you!" The demon lay down with his gigantic paws overlapping one another and his hind legs settling on either side of him. _"I told you, I'm Itzal."_

'Itzal' paused and grinned, fangs and all. _"Oh, you mean WHAT I am? I'm a demon, a wolf demon."_ He licked his lips and grin madly at her. His light amber eyes flashed and he bared his fangs threateningly. _"Any questions?"_

Sakura took a glance at his sleek black coat. Seven tails unraveled from behind him and Sakura noted that the one in the middle had a thin white line running through it. Taking a step back from the monstrous figure, Sakura was unsure how to handle this unique situation _"Come closer Sakura, I don't bite,"_ He smiled his toothy smile and chuckled at his own joke,_"much."_ Hesitantly, Sakura closed the distance between her and the wolf. His tails instinctively curled around her waist and she tensed a little.

_"Question?"_

"Why are you here? Where am I?" Sakura asked. This question had been nagging her since she woke up here.

_"Like I told you, I'm Itzal the Shadow Wolf. I now share a part of your soul. This is my home for eternity. To be more precise, this is the inner confinement of your mind. I am not exactly sure how I got here but I know that by obtaining me, you have become Mitsuko's successor."_

"Mitsuko? I have never heard of her, much less become her successor?"

Itzal smirked, _"Of course you don't know her, no successor knows her predecessors. Ah, it's been a long line of mistresses that I have served."_

Turning to his current mistress, Itzal wrapped a paw around her. _"Now listen, my dear child, the time is drawing near for you to leave. We will meet again in your mind and dreams. Be thankful that you did not get Eurydice, that woman packs a vicious swing."_ Shoving her up and away from him, Itzal turned away from her. _"Remember, I am YOU!"_

She opened her eyes and jolted up with a big gasp, as if she hadn't breathed for a while. Her eyes darted around the blinding white surrounding in desperation for any familiarity. Giving in to the discomfort that caused, she quickly closed her eyes. It was too bright. "Easy there, Sakura." Turning to the voice, she found the 5th Hokage with a slight smile on her face.

"Welcome back to us, Sakura."


	3. 02

**Lurking Within**  
_(Part 1 of the trilogy)  
-_

**Chapter 02: Woven webs of Reality**

Emerald eyes traveled around the room before it stayed on the spot where sunlight shone through the closed shades. "Why am I still here?" Sakura asked. The tone in her voice demanded an answer. It had already been a week and a half since she woke up from her slumber. In her medic's point of view, she has more than recovered. Sakura lifted her wrists slightly, the sound of her metal handcuffs clinking together echoed in the room. The hokage gave no answer, merely sighing before reaching for the door. "I'm sorry Sakura." Closing the door behind her, the hokage looked up into the exposed eye of Kakashi. "Watch her, I will be back with answers soon."

For a second time that day, the door creaked open for another visitor. This time it was her Senpai. "Kakashi-senpai!" Her face lift itself to a soft smile, happy to see one of her close friends. Curiosity quickly set in before the greeting was return. "Senpai, can you tell me what happened? I don't know what's wrong. I've been here for almost two weeks!" Leaning back to the wall, Kakashi continued staring at his favorite kunoichi from across the room.

"What do you remember Sakura?" Kakashi asked.

Sakura paused before she shook her head. "All I remember was getting bit, that's it." She adjusted her metal handcuffs to a more comfortable position."Senpai, you're not answering my question, just like Shishou." His silver hair gleamed briefly in the spilled sunlight from the cracks of the curtain, as he walked closer to her. "You attacked a nurse after you were bitten," Kakashi stated bluntly, "She would have been torn apart if the hokage wasn't there to stop you." Stuttering, Sakura shook her head in denial and confusion. "What? Senpai, you know I would never do that!"

"The hokage is searching for answers, she'll be back." Kakashi said. He turned on his heels and walked out, once more leaving the girl in solitude.

What was perhaps only a few hours felt like months, maybe even years, before she saw Tsunade come through the door with a scroll in her hand. Sakura's smile and greeting faded once she saw a few top jounins flocking around her. They were protecting her sensei, from her? "Sakura!" Snapping her head up to answer, Sakura found Tsunade sighing before showing her a scroll. "Listen to me carefully, Sakura, I'm not sure how reliable these texts are but the cover has this symbol. I've seen it briefly when you were attacking the nurse." Making sure she established eye contact with Sakura, Tsunade said, "It was hidden in the restricted vaults."

Sakura stared at the ornate scroll in surprise. "However, we are unable to open it to fully read its contents." Tsunade stated. "Perhaps you can give it a try."

A nod of Tsunade's head was all it took for the jounin to unlock her handcuffs. Sakura gave her raw wrist a rub before she nodded her head. The scroll was thrown across the room and Sakura caught it with ease. What she didn't expect was for the scroll to unravel on its own. "Well, I guess we found the right one." Tsunade grunted.

_To my dearest successor,_

_if you have come this far and have come to rely on this scroll... then I fear for the worst. You are being hunted and I am already dead, no longer of any help. Listen, my dear one, and know this tale well. Long, long time ago, when time governed nothing and seemed nonexistent, there were only two races in existence. These two races, two clans, dominated the lands. They were known as demons, all things evil and tainted; and angels, all things good and pure. There was a silent rule among the clans: breed among the clans. This was to isolate all secrets of one clan from the other. None disobeyed this law, none until Rased and Meruhesae appeared._

_Rased from the angels and Meruhesae from the demons. They were introduced by fate and after some time, Rased and Meruhesae fell for one another. Much to the clans' horror, an infant was born. Half demon and half angel, it was the creation of old magic, love. To the clans, however, this was a product of abomination. As the infant grew, so did the clans' dislike for the young child; she was a danger for both clans. Assassins from each clan were sent to kill the young girl and her parents, only one of those numerous assassins lived to tell the tale. Lilith had survived the slaughter. Though Rased and Meruhesae was dead, they still live on in their child._

_Now, before I go much further, dear reader, you must understand the concept of our world. We were blessed by two different Gods whom loved us deeply. They whisper old secrets and ancient magic into our ears, they provide us with wisdom and powers beyond one's imagination. The Gods, Odin and Thor, were as different as night and day. While one gave rise to the demon clan, another founded the angel clan. Odin blessed the demons with the ability to communicate with the wilderness, incredible strength, and powers of destruction. However, there was a draw back; their conscience was split into twos, the holder and a hell demon. With every full moon, their demon was let loose from their confinement and would take over their possessors. Blood was spilled every full moon, painting the moon crimson. This was one reason why the angels resent the demons so much._

_For you see, the angels were one that knew of only graciousness, love, and peace. Their God, Thor, gave them wisdom, the gift of healing, and the aid of holy powers; but, as payment, they were to house a fallen angel in their own body. With every new moon, the fallen angel was to rise. A fallen angel was condemn from heaven because it had spilled blood of another angel, thus tainting its soul. With a tainted soul, the fallen angel is easily tempted to continue its 'ritual sacrifice'. That is the curse and blessings of the Gods, Odin and Thor._

_My heiress, pay close attention for I feel myself slipping; you are the successor of Rased and Meruhesae's child, Lilith. However, unlike Lilith, you posses only one race, from either the demon clan or the angel clan. Lilith had no direct heiress, the reason is something only Lilith knows. Acquiring the second will take time and will be your purpose in life. Oh my unfortunate successor, beware of those who crave your power; it will be your own destruction. Your life, now, is a pilgrimage; seek for day or find your night._

_Follow the voice, and hear my calling._

"None of this makes sense," Sakura yelled, "this might not even be true Shishou!" Her eyes flashed with denial. "I am no demon nor an angel. I am Sakura, Haruno Sakura! I should not be caged like some wild animal based on some scroll whose origins are unknown. There has to be a medical explanation for my behavior. Shishou, please!"

Tsunade sighed and nodded, accepting her explanation. "I do question the scroll's content but we cannot just overlook it. Since it opened to only you, keep the scroll. Sakura, I do trust you but you must alert me if there is any new information." Sakura nodded quickly and took a hesitant step off her bed. "Take a few days off, Sakura. Go home and rest."

Breathing in a deep intake of the crisp air, Sakura smiled contently as she stretched. Freedom, oh how sweet it taste. Lowering her arms from above her head, Sakura's smile grew as she heard Naruto's voice. It still surprised her how she always hear his voice before actually seeing him.

"Sakura-channnnnnnn!"

Allowing herself to be thrown into his arms for an immense and crushing hug, Sakura gave a content sigh. That contentment was short lived when she began to have trouble breathing from the lack of air. "Let's get some ramen and you can tell me what happened to you. That old hag wouldn't let me know anything!" With a smile stuck on her face, Sakura nodded and followed Naruto's demolishing path to Ichiraku Ramen. Her shriek at the way Naruto plowed everyone out of his way ended in a laughter. As she stared at the zig-zaging blur of the blonde, Sakura sighed.

It's been 7 years since Sasuke left and everything, everyone, changed. Last she heard of a wisp of him, was through a chain of stories claiming that Orochimaru was dead and this was because of the Sasuke. Naruto is well on his way to fulfilling his life's dream, though he still is under Jiraiya's care. Occasionally, he would spar or train with Kakashi and her. After several unsuccessful retrieval attempts, she made a decision that would ultimately change her life; letting go of Sasuke and her love for him as well. Naruto had reluctantly agreed after a long debate.

Life at Konoha soon settled down to a routine.

Kakashi would continue to train them, mostly just her, and if they were lucky, an A-ranked mission. He was still the same Kakashi, never missing the newest volume of Ichi Ichi Paradise and always arriving late. As for herself, well, she was under intensive training from Tsunade and Kakashi. After months and months of such training, she finally became the well-rounded medic and jounin she had dreamed to be.

"Sakura? Are you okay?"

Snapping awake from her reminisce, the girl nodded and took a seat in the booth. The Ichiraku Ramen had expanded since their childhood days, mostly due to Naruto's contributions. It was beautifully furnished while still holding its simplicity. The wood were red oak and the seats were clothed in black. Though the restaurant had changed, along with its interior, one thing didn't; the owner Arata. At the moment, Arata was positively beaming at the sight of his regular customer. "Naruto! The usual I assume?" Nodding, the Kyuubi-holder looked at Sakura, expecting her to order. "I'm not hungry," Sakura replied, shaking her head. Before he could even reply to such a 'nonsense' answer, another girl captured his attention as soon she entered. "Hinata-chan!" His excitement and the giddiness in his voice wasn't lost between the two girls. Sakura smirked. Hinata blushed. It was time for Naruto to love someone, and be loved in return; it is what he deserved.

"Sakura-san, Naruto-kun," the Hyuuga heiress smiled and took a seat next to Naruto, "I hope I'm not intruding?"

Sakura shook her head and snickered at the glances the two in front of her threw at each other. Leaning back and placing her hands on the table, the pink-hair kunoichi remembered the scroll in her hand. It was wrapped in a beautiful snow-colored silk with intricate Celtic designs in black. True to Tsunade's words, there was a weird symbol on the cover though it resembled more of a crest. It had a circle with a cross. The sides went further than the circle boundaries and between the top half of the cross was a curved line on each side pointing upwards. On the bottom half was also two curved lines, but they pointed downwards. The opposite poles were ivory and there was a midnight-black ribbon tying the scroll together. As if her hands had its own mind, it made swift work of the knot and freed the scroll. Scanning the long passage that she had already read, Sakura unraveled the scroll further to see three lines of rune symbols. Seeing that there was still some space left to unroll, she opened all the way and saw what looked like a map - though it resembled nothing like the other maps she seen of Konoha or the other countries.

_"Lemuria... den of the tainted souls"_

A scream tore from her throat and she found herself staring at the location, where for a moment, glowed. The scroll fell to the floor as she threw it away in haste. "Sakura!" Calming her speeding heart, Sakura uttered, "I- I'm sorry, I'm going home. I don't feel so well." Picking up the scroll from the floor, she ran with the unraveled scroll trailing behind her. Her blossom hair whipped in her eyes as she ran blindly towards her secluded home, ignoring the amount of people she pushed as she went.

_"Lemuria, find home"_

This only caused Sakura panic even more. So she didn't just imagine it! She slammed the door open and dropped to the floor of her home. The scroll, gripped tightly in her hands, joined her huddled position as voices kept talking in her head.

"I'm home, this is my home. I'm home." Sakura quietly muttered to herself.

Her hands went up to cover her ears in an attempt to block out the intruding sounds. Her eyes scrunched close as she tried to ignore the voice in her head commanding her to find her home.

This was her home, not some place the voice kept screaming for, and she was safe; right?


	4. 03

**Lurking Within**  
_(Part 1 of the trilogy)_

**Chapter 03: A graveyard marked by the full moon**

"It's the full moon tonight, I need you to do something for me." The Copy-nin from Konoha looked up from his shocking orange book, Ichi Ichi Paradise, and glanced lazily at the Hokage. She refused to meet his gaze, instead opting to concentrate deeply towards the papers in front of her. "It's been months, I know, and there has been no disturbances but I need to be sure. Kakashi, watch over her carefully tonight. If something does happen, well, then do what you must." Narrowing his eyes, he asked her with dead seriousness, leaving no tone for jokes. "Do you mean kill her?" The papers stopped rustling about and the room became pin-drop silent. The breeze gently swayed the shades and only the sounds of nature echoed in the room. "I have asked Jiraiya to accompany you, in case any... difficulties appear. Kakashi, Konoha is where your first priority lies." Once more the Sharingan holder gave no answer, but to Tsunade, his silence spoke more than enough. "Hatake Kakashi, you are a Jounin and an ANBU, your life lies and serves Konoha – never forget that." Giving the silver-hair man once more a look over, she returned her attention to the piles of paperwork in front of her. "Dismissed." Her tone left no room for discussion and Kakashi gave none, only turning to leave. "We're not all tools." There was a slight pause of sounds before once more, it resumed.

Firmly closing the door behind him, Kakashi turned and found himself staring at the perverted legendary sannin. "Naruto will never forgive you if you hurt her." The legendary sannin gave no reply and walked on, "I'm visiting the bathing area for inspiration. I'll meet you at Ichiraku Ramen in half an hour." Kakashi wasn't even able to utter a reply, merely staring at Jiraiya leave for another of his pervert book inspiration, Ichi Ichi Paradise. Shrugging, he started on his way to look for the noisy nin from Konoha and the cherry blossom; fully knowing exactly where they'll be at this time of the day. It wasn't hard, actually, to find them. Around noon, at this time, Naruto had made it an everyday mission to bring the scattered team 7 together for lunch. It was in his way, a means of connecting the bonds that Sasuke had broken when he left. Even now, years after one of his most promising charge left, he still felt remorse at not being able to stop Sasuke from paving the way to his doom. "Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto screamed and waved from the booth of Ichiraku Ramen, "Coming to join us?" Sluggishly, he made his way to the noisy blond. Though his eyes were trained on Naruto, he couldn't help but direct his thoughts to the girl sitting quietly next to him.

Haruno Sakura, it's been approximately five months since the 'accident' – as many now call it – and the once close bond between them had disappeared. Each day the distance would widen and the ex-sensei was at a loss of what he could possibly do. She had certainly grown up in those last couple of months, that he was sure, but she had also lost the trait that was uniquely her. No longer was she the overly cheerful girl whom had been part of his team, or the over infatuated love teenager, but now an empty shell of who she once was. It was Naruto who tried the hardest to get her back together, try to turn her back into the Sakura he once knew and loved. But there is only so much a man can do, and Naruto had already done enough. Naruto had simply threw down the towel after three months of non-response, merely living with the fact that _that_ Sakura would not be returning anytime soon. Instead, he turned his attention to preserving the friendship that he cherished.

"It's a full moon tonight."

He hadn't meant to say it, but the statement slipped out of his mouth before he could stop himself. The young girl's reaction didn't go unnoticed to the Sharingan user, and he made a mental note of it. "So it is." Those was the only words she spoke of since he arrived; no more were there ever going to be a joyous girl greeting him, no more of her bubbly happiness... she was no more. "I almost forgot!" Naruto spoke, with his mouth full of the beef ramen he had ordered, "you're coming to the party, right Sakura?" Sakura paused and nodded slowly, "I promised Naruto. I'll show up tonight at Hyuuga's estates at 6." Kakashi leaned back and his eyes widen, he'd almost forgotten that it was the young Hyuuga heiress's birthday today. "Alright, remember Sakura! I'm going to go, the old hag asked me to see her today. I'll see you later Sakura; bye Kakashi!" A puff of smoke laid where the boy had once stood and Sakura sighed wearily. She stood and made her way out of the restaurant – Naruto had paid before he left. "Sakura!" She didn't even have time to turn before she tumbled back by the sheer force of a crushing hug. "It's been so long since I've basked in your beauty!" The victimized girl growled and smacked the man on the head, "Jiraiya-sama, you're such a pervert!" Laughing, Jiraiya pulled away and gave a wink at the flustered girl.

"Sorry, I'm going to borrow your sensei for a minute." Emerald eyes turned and widen slightly, as if she had not notice the copy-nin's presence before. "I didn't see you there." Her only reply before turning to make her way to the hospital, where she was needed as Tsunade's apprentice and top medic. The Ichi Ichi Paradise owner whistled softly under his breath, "She still holding a grudge against you?" "She's going to the Hyuuga's party tonight." Blinking once, twice, Jiraiya scratched his chin and a thoughtful expression appeared on his face. "Well, I guess we're going." Walking away, Jiraiya lifted his hand in a sort of a wave, "See you there Kakashi!" Once more the perverted nin left him in the dust and Kakashi shook his head, reaching for his entertainment; it was going to be a long night.

Time passed swiftly, too swiftly in Sakura's case, and she soon found herself staring at her bathroom mirror. She had just gotten out of the showers after a day's work and she stood in front of her mirror wrapped in a white terrycloth towel. Her ivory flesh glisten, still wet from the bath, and she shivered slightly at the breeze that blew at her skin. Damp pink tresses clung to her face and back, her reflected eyes stared through her. It's been how long since her trust for others had been shattered? A month? Two months? Time seemed nonexistent to her now, she only lived for the next day that always came. Everyone, everything, was a blur to her and the only constant person in her life was Naruto – her dear ex-teammate. They were no longer team 7, having that one of their teammate had left. Though she had been unresponsive to Naruto's attempt of changing her back to who she use to be, he never gave up contact with her. Everyday he would seek her out, he would try to not change her – he stopped a little while ago – but to at least see her smile or laugh. She was waiting for the day he'd give up on her completely and leave her, just like _he _had. However, Naruto kept appearing, day after day. He kept her safe, protected and found it his responsibility to steer her away from the people of Konoha. Nevertheless, she still heard them; whispering – she was not deaf – and saw their extra glances – nor was she blind – at her.

Memories are hard to erase and forget. She'd definitely not forgotten the cautious look her former senpai had given her when he stepped into the room with the Godaime. She was not slow, she saw his hands linger near his kunai pouch and though he tried to show that he was just lounging around, his posture was stiff and on guard. It hurts, that one of her closest friend would think of her as a danger – a monster. It also wasn't much of a help when she caught an ANBU following her around. She'd literally tore Tsunade's office apart in fury when she learned that she was being 'analyzed' and tagged like an animal; did they not trust her? It was silly and childish, of course, that she gave in to her temper of being followed; but at that time, she was hurt beyond repair. How could they do this to her? It took a while before the 5th Hokage dismissed that ANBU from watching her, mostly due to her damage to the office and anger. After that little 'episode', she started to change. She wasn't their Sakura anymore, she knew it and they knew it. She was the new Sakura, one who can rival Sasuke for his coldness. Gone with the old and in with the new, or so they say.

Turning away from the critical analysis she gave herself, she made her way into her bedroom in search for proper wear. Those voices, those dreams – the core of how everything came to be – was gone after she woke up, sitting with her back pressed to her front door, with the scroll clutched in her hand. There were no funny glow from the scroll and there were no demonic voices in her head whenever she stared at it. It seemed like a dream, a nightmare that she woke up from, though she hid the scroll at the bottom of her weapon chest. Sakura threw some choices of clothing on to her bed and wrapped her hair up with the towel, keeping it away from her dry clothes. Picking up a black dress, Sakura stared at it before dumping it back to the pile of clothes on her bed. She made her way to a mahogany chest at the corner of her room and she lifted the top up. Her hands closed around delicate fabric and she freed it from its confinement of the dark chest. She gave no glance to the cloth in her hand, merely turning to head for the bathroom once more. Tonight, she'll stun them with the new Sakura.

"Naruto-kun, are you sure Sakura said she's coming tonight?" The Hyuuga heiress asked for the fifth time that night when a certain pink-hair, green-eye girl failed to show up. Naruto nodded and wrapped his arms around his girlfriend in assurance, though his blue eyes were scanning the crowd. "She promised, Hinata, and no matter how much Sakura-chan changed, she'll never break a promise." Directing his eyes from the crowd to the woman in his arms, he smiled and gave her a quick kiss. Naruto couldn't help but laugh at the blush on Hinata's face, even after a month of dating – and countless accounts of kissing – she was still timid about it. It had taken him years to realize that the girl he'd ever wanted was in front of him all along. Don't get him wrong, he did love Sakura, but it was more on the line of sister and brother love. His crush on the bubblegum girl shifted to another kind of love and he found himself attracted to the quiet girl in front of him now; not that he was complaining. "Naruto!" Hinata hissed from his side, "Sakura!"

Pale blue eyes locked with deep green eyes and his mouth dropped; never mind the informality of it all. The girl he considered a younger sister was dressed in a beautifully woven kimono. It was a unique shade of midnight blue, with some strands of silver thread – only on a more closer inspection can one see it – and the designs were phenomenal. On the bottom of her kimono were tiny silver butterflies that gathered together in a bunch at the lower left corner and then sparsely scattered on the way up – giving the illusion of the them flying. The obi was a darker blue and the color of the kimono enhanced her unique pink hair – tied into intricate knots with a sapphire trinket hanging from the side. Her eyes were lined with Kohl and the greenness of her eyes popped at him. The kimono seemed plain, but on her, it looked as if it was made for the sole purpose for Sakura to adorn it. Her red tinted lips curved into a smile and she made her way to them, the crowd parting as she went. "Naruto." She greeted before turning her attention to the woman next to him. "Hinata, happy birthday."

Snapping out of whatever reverie she was in, the raven hair girl smiled and hugged Sakura. She'd certainly come out of her shell from hanging around Naruto a bit too much. "Thanks Sakura, I'm happy you can make it." Smiling – something she hadn't done in months – Sakura nodded, "Wouldn't miss it for the world."

The rest of the night was spent with drinks, chattering, and dancing. The night wore on and the party was still livid with commotion. Sakura found herself leaning against a rail, away from the crowd, and staring at the beautiful couple dancing in the middle of the ballroom floor. She always found that those two matched, terribly so, and it bothered her that she couldn't find someone like that. However, that didn't stop her from being happy for her friends – Naruto in particular. If there was anyone in the world who deserved love, the kind that only the Hyuuga successor could give, it was Naruto. "You've been standing there staring at that the dance floor for quite some time, Haruno." Sakura wouldn't deny that she almost jumped out of her skin when a voice suddenly disturbed her thoughts, but she would rather die than admit it. "Hyuuga-san," she greeted before replying, "I was merely thinking." Hyuuga Neji, an accomplished Jounin and a soon to be ANBU Captain, stood out from his corner of the balcony and made his way towards her. He stood tall, perhaps even a good foot taller than her, and his towering form loomed over her. Thick silky locks of warm chocolate brown hair, tied in a low ponytail, streamed over his back; and pale white eyes of the Hyuuga bloodline stared at her.

"You're not here under Tsunade-sama's orders are you? Because if you are, you're doing a bad job of keeping yourself undetected." She said jokingly. The intimidating Jounin continued to stare her down and she swiftly shifted her gaze somewhere else. Her eyes immediately pinpointed to two particular men, Kakashi and Jiraiya. Although there were other ex-sensei standing around, enjoying the party, Sakura wasn't deceived – not even for one second – that that wasn't the reason why they were there. They were here to keep watch over her. "Look at those two over there, they're doing a better job of being undetected than you are." She hissed and glared with every ounce of fury in her, "They think I'm stupid or something, thinking that they can fool me. Trying to make me think that the only reason they're here is to enjoy the party, they think I don't know the real reason. Of course I know! They're here because of Tsunade-sama, she's meddling again."

"You're too full of yourself."

Neji's emotionless statement cut her short of her rambling and Sakura stared shocked at Neji, "Excuse me?" Narrowing her eyes at his lack of response, she made a move to leave. "You're just another Sasuke." She muttered under her breath softly. A hand shot out and grabbed on to her wrist painfully, "Don't compare me to that Uchiha." He gave her a look over and scoffed, throwing her words back at her. "You're just another weak kunoichi." Her response was not one he expected and he gave her a look that told her so. With strength that had appeared out of nowhere, she had pushed him away from her. His hold on her disappeared and he found himself holding his left cheek, where she had hit him. "Watch what you say Hyuuga." She hissed at him and her emerald eyes flashed with contained anger. "Or the next time, I'm cutting off your tongue." A tinkle from her trinket and a twirl of her kimono, she was gone. Lowering his hand, his palm was stained with some blood. Wincing, Neji turned to the window and saw a deep gash on his face. His fist tightened and he tried to suppress the sudden urge to strangle the girl, a task that was proving to be hard.

Her footsteps stomped the lawn outside as she walked around the garden. She had come outside for a breath of fresh air and in hopes of cooling down, though in vain. It's been so long since she'd shown any type of anger, or emotion, and that _bastard_ had gotten a rise out of her. Pulling the jeweled chopstick from her hair, a curtain of silky pink fell around her. A gust of breezy winter wind swept through her hair and she breathed in the cool air. The anger simmered down a little and she opened her eyes to a dark sky. That's right, she mused, it's a full moon tonight. Sighing, Sakura turned to head back in before Naruto came looking for her; but she felt something, something strange churning inside of her.

"_Kill him, free me..."_

Voices, they were back and Sakura clutched her head as a wave of migraine began. Her eyes were shrewd shut and her lips were parted in a silent scream as she felt herself fall to the green grass. Her fingers curled around the blades of grass and she pulled as another attack of pain wracked through her body. It felt as if her whole body was blazing with fire and yet frozen with ice at the same time. It was a strange, and painful, feeling.

"_Free me, Sakura, unleash me from my prison."_

She groaned as she fell to her side, the pain was too much. Her body was pulled into a fetal position and her lips were stained red from biting her lips too harshly. "Sakura?" She could barely make out who it was, but she was certain it wasn't the raspy voice inside her head. "Alert Naruto and tell him to get Tsunade here!" Another voice, this one was different also; who was it? "Kakashi?" She whimpered and clutched her head more as she went into another painful shudder. "It's okay Sakura, you're doing fine. Fight it." Fight? What did she have to fight? Her emerald eyes cracked open and she found herself staring into the eyes of her ex-sensei, Kakashi. "Jiraiya, perform the seal!" From the corner of her eyes, she saw the legendary sannin pull a scroll from seemingly nowhere and a stab of pain went through her.

"_They're going to kill you, free me!"_

Sakura whimpered again as she saw Jiraiya make his way closer, his hands starting to perform a jutsu. Above her, Kakashi had a kunai positioned on her throat; the cold blade skimming her neck, meant to keep her in place. "Everything will be okay Sakura."

"_FREE ME!"_

Opening her mouth into a scream, an unknown force slammed into the man above her, forcing him to release his hold on her. Jiraiya stopped in mid-step and cursed loudly, "Get up Kakashi!" The copy-nin wasted no time in following that order and his kunai was positioned in front of him. "What's going on? I thought you were going to seal it!" Kakashi demanded, his eyes never leaving the still form on the floor. Pounding footsteps came louder and his visible eye turned to see a group of people behind the 5th Hokage. "Sakura-chan!" Naruto, ever present, yelled in concern and made a move to her side but Tsunade held on. "What do you think you're doing you old hag!" The comment was ignored and Neji activated his Byakugan, "I don't recognize her chakra." The ANBUs behind him held a kunai in their hands and tensed up as a groan echoed throughout the garden. The young girl rolled on to her stomach and she stretched, arching her back like that of a cat.

A purr rumbled from her and she opened her eyes to reveal narrow amber eyes behind messy pink hair. "The gang is all here?" Her voice was like liquid vodka, it dripped with bitterness and poison. She stood up on her feet, stumbling a bit, and a breeze swept her hair into a frenzy dance of twists and turns. A pair of black wolf ear was on top of her head and it twitched slightly from the breeze. A symbol glowed on her forehead, contrasting with her pale alabaster skin. It was a cross with a circle around the intersection and two curved lines pointed down from the lower half of the cross. She sniffed the air and took in a deep whiff, cool and soothing. "It's been so long since I've been freed." Fangs peaked out from her mouth and a pink tongue darted to lick her lips, a hungry look gleaming in her eyes. "My desire to see blood run is tempting also," A wicked laugh shot forth from her throat and she gave a seducing look from behind her curtain of hair. Her eyes locked with the Godaime and she winked, "My dearest Godaime, I will paint your town red tonight."

An ANBU – Neji – made a move forth with his bloodline activated and chakra at his fingertips, ready for a fight. Her lips curled into a snarl and she bared her fangs, hissing at him. "I do not mean you, you are nothing to me, mortal!" From underneath her kimono of beautiful blue, came seven fluffy tails. One tail had some strands of white and her hands reached out to hold it close to her. Her nails had shifted to claws and it flashed dangerously. "Do not challenge me, you do not stand a chance." She paused and growled in annoyance, "You are in Lady Luck's grace. My mistress does not wish for me to spill any unnecessary blood tonight, perhaps another time mortal." No one could reply before their eyes widen considerably. Where Sakura once stood, now stood a demon.

"It's truly a treasure to be free." The wolf demon bared his fangs and snarled, "I am Itzal, the Shadow Wolf, remember my name well." Annoyed that no one made a move, Neji threw his kunai at the demon; only to be met with air. The one known as 'Itzal' had disappeared into the shadows and a kimono laid on the ground, the only evidence that Sakura was ever there and that indeed, a monster was loose.

"Kakashi."

Answering to his name, he turned to face Tsunade – like the rest of the group – who were still speechless, and nodded for her to continue. "I have a new mission for you. Head immediately to Suna and get me Sabaku no Gaara, we are in need of his assistance."

_**A/N: Hello Loves, thanks for those who reviewed! This is extremely long, 5 pages on Office, so enjoy and review! Due to some very encouraging reviews, I'm going to move this fiction higher on my priority list. Keep them coming!**_


	5. 04

**Lurking Within **  
_(Part 1 of the trilogy)_

_---_

**Chapter 04: Provoking the Beasts**

**---**

Blood, the taste of copper and the smell of life, how he enjoyed watching it spill. Touching the lifeless hare in front of him, his mind began to wonder to the foolish mortals resting in their house. Amber eyes glowed in excitement as his imagination roved around. Dreams of anguished cries and mangled corpses, flowing crimson rivers and dry bodies, a life every demon wants. Cursing his luck, his claws stabbed at the hare's body, already mangled beyond recognition. Why had he promise his mistress? Contrary to what many think, his kind do have one code of honor besides killing, honor of thy words. He had given his word and he would not back out of it. The Shadow Wolf gave a lazy stretch and his sleek black coat rippled from the pure muscle underneath. His tails flickered about, the single white tip a damper in his pure coat. A rustle from behind him caused him, by pure instinct, to stiffen and ears to focus on the noise. Narrowing his amber eyes and licking his fangs, he spotted some entertainment. A man was hiding behind the bushes with a kunai in hand. Itzal felt a sense of adrenaline course through his body and he got into his favorite stance, ready to pounce. Sure he couldn't kill, but who would be stopping him from torturing?

Bunching the muscles in his hind legs, he emitted a low growl as warning. His keen eyes watched as the man turned to run. The aroma of his fear led a trail of evidence for him to follow. The demon found another bolt of excitement run through his body. Deciding it was enough time for his prey to have tried to escape, Itzal crept silently through the forest in search for his source of fun. His nose picked up the fresh scent of fear and his ears could hear the man's pounding footsteps loudly. As he drew near, the noise from the man faded. However, the smell of fear was still strong and Itzal eyed the wooden cottage in front of him. That man had foolishly led the demon back to his own den, oh how simple minded mortals were. Pushing the door open with his muzzle, Itzal's feral grin was hidden from the man; though the blazing amber eyes weren't.

"_Come out, come out, wherever you are..."_

---

He never slept. He couldn't sleep. It would mean life and death if he did. Though he was not scared of death, more like welcomed it, he wish to die in battle and not in bed. Black lined jade eyes narrowed at the sudden intrusion of a knock on his door, he hated being disturbed. "Sir, the Kazekage is in dire need of your presence." The messenger boy called through the door, and Gaara smirked at the shaking in the boy's voice. Fear, that emotion was delicious and he lived to create that in everyone he encountered. Looking out the window, Gaara got up and made for the door. It was very late at night. The Kazekage must have something important to state. The door slammed behind him and he walked ahead of the trembling boy. It better be something important if the Kazekage of Suna wishes to live.

"Sabaku no Gaara," the Kazekage nodded before turning to the guest standing in the middle of the room. Silver hair, that thought pinpointed to only one man, Hatake Kakashi of Konoha. Sweat was rolling down his skin, and he could hear Kakashi's harsh breathing. It seemed as if he ran here, nearly depleting all his chakra. "The Godiame of Konoha needs your assistance in a matter." Not even answering, Gaara turned for the door. Noticing that no one moved, he turned his frozen eyes towards the well-known ANBU, ignoring the fact that Kakashi was about to pass out right then and there. "We leave at dawn." Smirking, the red-hair menace walked towards the gates leaving Suna. Sabaku no Gaara is heading for Konoha, and all should take heed.

---

"Alpha to Beta, have blossom been found?"

The electronic crackling from his ear piece disrupted the peaceful scenery and his concentration, "Not yet" His low monotone voice echoed back to 'Alpha'. The sky had only begun to paint a portrait of dusky pink and soft oranges, the sun just starting to rise from its slumber. The air smelled of fresh cut grass and dew clung to the leaves. Nature was at its most serene. However, those few seconds of peace only lasted so long before a voice chimed in through the electronic device, frantic. "I found her, Omega to Alpha! Oh dear god!" Stopping in his tracks, 'Beta' took out his tracking device and quickly sought out Omega's exact location. "Stay where you are, Omega! Coordinates, Beta!" Alpha's voice yelled. "Head northeast, you're close to him." Beta's reply before he sped off, his mind already flashing images of what he might find there. Suddenly, nature didn't seem so serene anymore.

"Omega?"

To his left, he saw Naruto walk out from the bushes and towards the cottage. Calling once more to their comrade, Kiba, Neji made his way towards the open door.

"What's our plan of action, Alpha?"

Naruto swiveled his head and blue eyes bore into white, "God damn it Neji, drop the names."

Stalking with silent footfalls, the 'Alpha' made his way first. It was dark but parallel windows allowed light to filter in. The first thing Neji noticed was the smell, tangy and copper, a horrible smell. Then the sight grasped him, refusing to let his eyes wander, making him focus his gaze solely on to the bloody scene. "What happened here?" He heard his captain growl, he was clearly disgusted by the amount of blood splattered everywhere. "Alpha, Beta!" They heard Kiba's voice, rather than seeing him, and walked as cautiously as they can. Their stance ever alert. Reaching a wooden door, Naruto pushed it open. The door creaked, signaling their entrance. All eyes turned to them, both dead and alive.

Neji stood his ground, even when Naruto pushed past him to the door leading outside. Closing his eyes, the Hyuuga prodigy tried to push the burned image away from his mind in vain. He heard Naruto emptying his stomach outside and Neji tried to muster as much calm as he could. "Kiba, you may head outside, I know how much worse the smell is for you." The Omega of the group quickly nodded and went for some fresh air, removing the stench from his nostrils though the memory of the room did not. It's been a while since he saw so much blood, so much death, and cold slaughter.

"Haruno"

From the room of red, pink stood out though covered in blood. It only took a second for Neji to identify her. Top to bottom, left to right, the only color scheme was crimson. The blood was in puddles and mangled body parts were thrown around the room. On the opposite wall from the door, that was once white, were words written in dried blood; reunited in Hell.

"Do you like the décor? It's beautiful isn't it?"

Footsteps echoed closer as Naruto stepped into his view, bright azure eyes stared confused by his former teammate's reaction. Arms open, he walked forward to comfort her and most importantly, to bring her back home. "Come now, Sakura-chan. It's time to go home." Her eyes shot up and glared defiantly at 'Alpha' for even daring to come near her. "Traitors!" She screeched at them, her emerald eyes showing her near insanity.

"She's unstable," Neji began to say, "be alert."

He had seen his share of psychos, hell, he was pretty sure he lived in a world of psychos, but he never saw someone like her. Emerald eyes tainted with not only pain but insanity, slowly eating her away. Her bloody hands wring nervously on her lap, her body bare. A curtain of drenched pink-red hair sheltered her from prying eyes and suddenly, she threw her head back and gave a shrilling laugh. Naruto winced at the harsh sound. He couldn't believe such a horrible sound was coming from his Sakura-chan's throat. "Even now, you still think you can hurt me!" Sakura screamed to the tensed ANBU, Neji. "Remember what I said last night, Hyuuga. I will cut your tongue if you dare to step out of line once more!"

"Please, Sakura-chan, we need to bring you back, you're hurt. Please, Sakura." Naruto plead, his eyes locking with hers. Her breath quickened and she started to sob, great heart-wrenching sobs that shook her tiny frame. "Naruto" She wailed out to her former teammate, and best friend. Ignoring the warnings that the prodigy was yelling to him, the boy bent down and wrapped his arms comfortingly around her. He let her cry on his shoulders. Her hands, caked with dry blood, grasped for him desperately; almost afraid that the blond would disappear. Sakura started spluttering out incomprehensible mutters that apparently, made sense to Naruto whom rocked back and forth trying to calm her. Turning away from such a scene, Neji walked out of the house and into Kiba.

"Mission complete."

---

It was white, almost too white to the point of blinding. "How is she?" Tsunade asked one of the nurses on call. "She is quiet sometimes and maniac other times. She is highly unstable, Tsunade-sama." Grunting at the obvious, the Godiame waved her away. Preparing herself for the worse, Tsunade opened the door to the sight of a lifeless Sakura.

"How are you today Sakura?"

The girl gave no indication that she heard the question directed to her, merely opting to stare at the blank wall in front of her instead. Tsunade issued another sigh and rubbed her temple, this was harder than she thought. "You are under arrest, Haruno Sakura." At this, Sakura jolted from her daydream and bared her teeth. "I have done nothing wrong!" Sakura hissed. Shaking her head, Tsunade allowed her eyes to check Sakura's body for any indication of pain. Wrists were held down with chakra bounds and ankles tied down with ropes, chains, and chakra.

"Sakura, this cannot continue. I have turned a blind eye to the numerous outbursts of violence and rage you have issued to the other shinobi. Hell, Sakura, I have overlooked the threats you've made to the interns here. But this, this is murder; no, this is manslaughter! I cannot just forgive this." Tsunade replied, her voice rising as she talked.

Haruno Sakura had become a danger to Konoha, and their only hope was in the hands of another danger; this was not looking too well. Kakashi had yet to return, having left 3 days ago. She was expecting his return, with Gaara, tomorrow the latest.

"Why are you doing this?" Tsunade snapped from her thoughts and gazed confusingly at Sakura, whom had averted her eyes. "I did no wrong." Closing her eyes in fatigue, the voluptuous Godiame got up to leave. "Why did you kill them, Sakura?" She was referring to the family of four, now dead in their cottage on the outskirts of the forest. "I did no wrong." Sakura continued to hiss, eyes clashed for a moment before Sakura averted her eyes again.

"I did no wrong. I did no wrong! I DID NO WRONG!" Sakura screamed in frustration.

Shaking her head, Tsunade closed the door behind her. She could still hear her most promising student screaming inside the imprisonment. "Do not allow anyone enter." The ANBU outside nodded and stood in attention as their beloved hokage made her way slowly down the corridor.

---

Finally, he was back in Konoha after a long two days travel. His eyes glanced swiftly to the boy next to him, noting the expressionless facade. Making his way, dragging his feet mostly, to the Hokage's office, he nearly crashed into Tsunade. "Hokage, Gaara's here." In a puff of smoke, Kakashi was gone to the shelter of his home for a good night's rest. He didn't have any strength and he did not care at the moment for anything. No one is going to come between him and his bed.

Tsunade shifted her attention the motionless boy in front of her and she sighed. "Follow me, Gaara. There is much you need to know." He followed wordlessly behind her as she made her way towards her office. Today was going to be a long day, this calls for a bottle or two of sake afterward.

---

"_Mistress..."_

She ignored it. His calls and his voice, whenever she heard it, she ignored it. Her anger rose when she thought of that day, all those people now dead. Their mangled... stop! She berated herself for even straying down that road, for even thinking back to it. _"Sakura, you cannot ignore me for long."_ Her hands clenched into a fist at the sound of his sadistic voice, how she wished to punch the daylights out of him. "How could you do this to me Itzal! You broke your promise to me." Sakura shot back. She heard him snort and right then and there, she could picture him smirking wolfishly – no pun intended. _"I did not break your promise. I killed for self-defense."_ Screaming in frustration, Sakura growled and opened her mouth to reply but stopped short.

The door opened and in walked Tsunade, again, with a most unexpected visitor. Disheveled fiery red spikes, raccoon-like rimmed eyes, the cold blank stare, and piercing jade; Sabaku no Gaara was standing there in flesh and bones. Sakura smirked and plopped her head back on to her pillow, so they've decided to call in 'reinforcements'. Fine then, she will entertain them, she agreed silently. "Hyuuga Neji would be arriving shortly, until then, please assess Sakura-chan's conditions. Thank you, Gaara, for your cooperation." Her hand touched the doorknob, but she made no further step. "Lay a finger on her hair, and you'll be answering to the shinobi of Konoha."

The door slammed shut behind the woman and that left the two alone. No one spoke, only the sound of their breathing was heard in the room. Jade locked with emerald in a seemingly never-ending staring contest. Holding his gaze for a few more minutes, Sakura scoffed and turned her gaze somewhere else, as if he wasn't worthwhile.

-_Just let me at her, I will shred her until she begs for mercy. Even then I'll kill her!-_

His hands, or rather sands, itched for the taste of fresh spill blood but he held that urge down. It wouldn't be good to kill that damn kunoichi, especially in her territory. The beast in him paced, snarled, growled, and cursed at being contained; he would do well in teaching her a lesson she'll remember. Her mocking laugh caught his attention for a moment, focusing on her rather than the beast in him. He found himself glaring at her unconsciously. "Can't let him out, can you?" She hissed at him, her eyes glowing eerily. "Why do you fear that sealed Jinchuuriki? They mock him, you know, back home the other demons mock him." Pink tresses flew backward with her head movement as she laughed out loud again. "That weak little demon is nothing now, our people no longer fear him."

He could feel Shukaku's anger directed at the girl and him, it was literally rolling out in waves; at her for mocking him and at Gaara for containing him. -_Why do you fight me! I will bathe in her blood!-_ Once more suppressing the growing urge, Gaara turned away from her to leave; it was best to wait for the Hyuuga outside.

"Are you running away, Shukaku?"

That stupid girl! She doesn't know when to quit does she. Placing his mask back on, Gaara reached for the door, trying to indicate that whatever she was talking about had no effect on him. "Itzal wishes to fight you, you know. He wants to see you run away with your tail between your legs, will you give him the honor?" Gaara clenched his hands together and he slowly felt his barriers break away to leave only the monster known as Shukaku behind. Although his mind didn't recognize the name, Itzal, the monster within him did. It growled and snarled vigorously, determined to come out. It took all his concentration and training to suppress the beast from coming out.

He whirled around to meet the girl that had evoked such anger from him, only to meet with hybrid eyes of amber and emerald. "So you're the container of Shukaku," she growled, as if she wasn't Sakura but someone else. "Tell that damn bastard that what he did to me will be paid back, tenfold." Snarling, the amber eyes faded to matching emeralds. Her dazed expression quickly turned to one of anger and she hissed at him. His eyes twitched and the beast in him, surprisingly, was still. He didn't know for how long their resumed staring lasted, but it dragged on to Neji's arrival. The door opened and the ANBU captain came in, in all his glory. He received a frigid stare from Gaara and a scoff from Sakura. Closing the door behind him, Neji quickly wished for some kind of attack or event that would kill the awkwardness. His wish came true soon after.

---


	6. 05

_**Lurking Within **__  
(Part 1 of the trilogy)_

_-  
_  
**Chapter 05: Pure thy blood; tainted thy sanity**

The door slammed open, dissipating the awkward staring contest the occupants of the room had fell into. On pure instinct, regardless of his location, Neji pulled out a kunai and his byukugan ready. In marched troops of ANBUs, with Ibiki in the lead, flooding the once empty room with occupants. His cape billowing and his face set into a blank slate, Morino Ibiki was not someone to be reckon with. Ignoring the two standing jounins, his piercing gaze focused solemnly on the lying kounichi. "Haruno Sakura, the council has requested for your presence as you are to stand in trail for murdering four civilians." He paused, expecting an outburst from the woman in front of him but, to his surprise, she only gave a bored yawn as a reply. "Haruno Sakura, you are charged for the murder of a fellow jounin, Yamamoto Masuyo, his twin six-year old daughters, Hanako and Hiroko, and another fellow jounin, Sugazaki Sho."

Still, she gave no answer, only a blank stare with a smirk. "Hyuuga, Sabaku, you are to join us." The group filtered out of the room, with Ibiki in the front, Sakura in the middle held by two ANBUs, followed by Neji and Gaara in the back. She paid no heed to her surroundings, her eyes dazing out as the demon in her screamed to be let out from his confinements. She ignored Itzal and stared at the back of Ibiki's head, hoping to burn a hole through it. Suddenly, she burst out laughing at the image of it. The surrounding ANBUs turned back with their weapons out, eying her through their various masks as she continued to laugh hysterically. Straightening herself up once she found that they were nearing the great wooden doors, Sakura smirked at the man next to her. She could smell the fear that he radiated and she basked in it.

It was dark inside, with the curtains pulled tight in a hospital room, the make-shift interrogation room. Everyone took separate corners and spaces in the room; even Neji and Gaara took a specific spot near the front. Emerald eyes scanned the room and locked eyes with every single one she called a 'friend'. Friends she cared about, she sneered, and yet here they are doing nothing but watching. "Haruno Sakura, you are called before the council today for the interrogation of manslaughter." Tsunade, in front of her, said. The 'council' consisted of the current Hokage, Tsunade, and several high jounins. She stared down at Kakashi until he looked away from her unnerving glare.

"Do you have anything to say before we begin?"

They were giving her a chance, an excuse or something to explain for what had happened; but she had none.

If she were the old Sakura, she would be crying and screaming for some sort of reasoning but that was the old her. The new Sakura, now, would merely stare back. What use was it to explain herself if they would never listen. Yet, a part of her still clung on to a glitter of hope. Perhaps they would take her back. She wanted to belong again, to have a sense of comfort and to be offered protection. She missed them, they were part of her pack. Sakura tried to reach out to everyone of them in the room; pleading through her eyes with Naruto, TenTen, Kiba, Kakashi, Tsunade, Iruka, Ino, Shikamaru, etc. She plead for them to understand and believe her. "I didn't do it." Call her naïve to think that they'll scoop her back up in their arms and believe her if you want, but that wouldn't stop her from wishing and praying. Funny how God doesn't listen, at times like these, to her.

The blond woman sighed, turned around and nodded towards someone in the room. "Akane, proceed."

The two jounins, at her side, pushed her shoulders down and her knees buckled under her. They instantly strapped her wrists to the ground, and at that moment, she noticed a weird seal drawn on the ground. With her knees bent, on either side of her, and her wrists strapped down, Sakura felt every bit of a prisoner. Out of the crowd of black, a tall girl walked into the open and towards her. Emerald locked with amethyst and everything seemed to melt away. Then, right there, she knew what was happening. They were asking this girl to enter her mind and go through her memories. The Shadow Demon in her laughed, mocking the humans for their stupidity of daring to trespass in her, no, their territory.

From the void of nothingness, a tiny glimmer of light flickered and Akane called for it. Slowly, what seemed like mini televisions, appeared. Sakura looked up and she realized these were all her precious memories, now exploited to a stranger. "He's pretty cute, who is he?" Sakura swiveled her head to see what had caught the girl's attention and she growled low in her throat. "Uchiha Sasuke." Sakura replied and she looked away quickly. Those onyx eyes and raven locks still had a hold on her, tugging at her heart strings painfully. She had not forgotten the day he left her behind, or the day she had officially left him behind; or at least tried to. She had given up on him, just like he had given up on her.

"So this is the infamous Uchiha Sasuke?" Akane smirked a little and her eyes darken at the thought of snatching him up.

"Who is he to you?"

Sakura looked up tiredly and gave a bored glance at the girl, "None of your business." The brunette instantly puffed up and sneered. Slowly, her sneer became a smirk and she focused her attention to the mini televisions instead of Sakura. "Well then, we'll just have to find out don't we?" Sakura narrowed her eyes in anger. That woman was actually thinking of going to all her memories for it? Growling, Sakura struggled to free herself from her confinement. "Find what you need and leave!" Akane watched her struggle briefly, the smirk never leaving her face, before she turned towards the mini television and searched for the most recent one with him in it. "Ah, here we are."

Sakura snapped her head up, attention rapt when she heard the sound of rain falling. It was that day. The one she hated and cherished, for two different reasons, and she was reliving it again.

Flashback

The heavens opened and spilled cold tears down the village of Konoha feverishly. The streets were deserted and the rain ran freely down the cracks of the cobble paths without a detour. However, that peace was momentary as a young boy ran down the streets to his destination. Seeing his goal in sight, he added more chakra in his feet and upped his speed. Slowing down near the Konoha gates, he turned around for one last memorizing glimpse of the village he had grown up in and had found a place of belonging. If only he didn't need to go on with his vow, maybe he can just stay... no! The boy shook himself awake from such a thought, he came this far and with such an opportunity in front of him, he can not pass it up.

"Sasuke-kun?"

He knew that voice, but he stopped himself from turning around to see her there, looking at him with eyes so emerald that the jewels would envy her. "You're leaving aren't you?" Sasuke gave in and looked at her from beneath his bangs, plastered on his face from the rain, dismissing her. "Go home." He faced away from her, determined to leave behind everything, his past, present, and future. "Stay in Konoha, don't leave. You have Naruto, Kakashi-sensei, and me; please don't go Sasuke-kun." He ignored her plea, letting it fall on deaf ears. His patience was withering. "Is revenge that important to you? Is nothing here in Konoha important to you?" In a soft whisper, he heard her add, "Am I not important to you?"

For a girl whom had followed him throughout most of his life, she was not as understanding as he thought she would be. "I live only to avenge my clan's death. I must kill Itachi." He glanced back at her from his shoulder and glared. "Anything else means nothing to me, including you." That comment hit home and Sakura closed her eyes as if that would make this a nightmare; trying with all her might to block the image of him walking away from her. His figure became smaller and she ran to be in equal distant from him. "If you do have to go, then take me with you, Sasuke-kun. If you're going to become a missing-nin, then at least have me by your side!" The rain continued to pelt down on the two humans, exposed to Mother Nature's wrath, maybe even sorrow, and did nothing to protect themselves. They stood there, one with his back turned in mid stride and another with her hand outstretched.

"Hn, you're annoying."

She froze at his bluntness, though she heard him saw it thousands of times, it always hurt each and every time. Even with her eyes pooling with tears, she paid no heed to it and continued to shadow him. "I will try hard, Sasuke-kun, to become stronger. Just, take me with you." She heard him growl with annoyance, but she stood her ground. She couldn't watch him leave, it was too much to bear. He scoffed at her and continued down the path in the rain, not bothering to acknowledge what his teammate had just said. He can't understand why she's going through all the trouble. He knew of her infatuation with him, but that will soon wear down once he's gone. "Can't you see, Sasuke-kun, I love you so much!" Love? That certainly stopped him in his tracks and he turned slightly to glance over his shoulders. The rain had weighed down her hair and had soaked her entire being. It was hard to tell if she was crying or if the rivers coursing down the contours of her face, were tears. But he knew, boy did he know, she was crying for him like she always did. That thought made his heart ache and clench for some reason. Knowing Sakura's stubborn nature, he placed his freshly thought plan into action. Moving quickly behind her, he pressed on a pressure point.

"Thank you, Sakura." And the world faded into a void of black.

End of Flashback  
-

Sakura kept her head bowed and took in deep breaths to calm herself. When she had woken up that day, she didn't cry. She merely went home and stared at her prized possession, her framed Team 7's picture. She had always thought she understood a part of him, not all, but just a small fraction. She had been so proud of that. She knew how important avenging his brother was to him, but she wanted so badly to be the reason for him to stay. Sakura gave a bitter laugh, how naïve she was then.

"What is there to laugh about?"

Akane's voice jolted the young girl to remember she had an intruder in her mind and she was none too please with it. Whisperings, that only she seemed to hear, echoed from the corners of her mind and she laughed at all the wicked suggestions. Images of detailed gore and bloody screams of murder rang in her head as she pictured each event happening to the prying ANBU. Finding a particular scene she liked, she asked her dear wolf to take his place. "Tell me, have you ever seen yourself get decapitated?"

**A/N; REWRITTEN!**


	7. 06

**Lurking Within**  
_(Part 1 of the trilogy)_

_---_

**Chapter 06: Hell? Meet Shadow**

**---**

She felt, rather than see, the bloodlusty demon residing in the girl's mind. Turning around and throwing a kunai at the same time, she was met with thin air. Scrunching her eyebrows together in confusion, Akane whipped around to face the lone figure on the ground. "Tell that demon of yours to leave us. If I die, so will you." She warned, kunai still out and in front of her as protection. The girl on the ground chuckled darkly and a pair of hybrid emerald-amber eyes peeked at her from behind pink locks.

"Now where's the fun in killing? Surely you know," Sakura smirked, "that demons love torture more."

---

From outside, the Jounin and ANBU continued to hold their guard. Naruto huffed impatiently and his paces were starting to annoy even the ever patient Hinata. "Naruto-kun, I'm sure..." A heart-gripping shriek had cut off her sentence, and all eyes turned to the ANBU writhing in pain. The first to move was Kakashi, his hands already performing the jutsu to cancel Akane's. The seal underneath Sakura darkened and dispelled, leaving a burnt mark on the wood. Pulling the harmed girl out of the way, Kakashi turned just in time to block a blow. Eyes, as cool and poisonous as vodka, peeked out from beneath pink locks.

"Hello, mortal."

Six tails unfold from behind her to accompany the one that attacked Kakashi and, as they touched the chains binding her, the chains disappeared into what seemed like a black void. Rubbing her sore wrists, Sakura gave a disapproving click. Sniffing the raw skin, she gave a swift lick to both wrists and before many eyes, the wounds healed. Laughing at their amazed stares, Sakura turned towards the exit.

"Well mortals, it has been fun but, I'm due for a long nap."

A weak cough sounded from behind her and the demon-wielder turned to meet frighten amethyst eyes. Tilting her head to the side, Sakura took steps towards the frighten girl. No one stopped her, as if they could, and she basked in the power status. On the same eye level as Akane, Sakura wiped the trickle of blood off of Akane's face. "My dear girl, I assume you learned your place?" Not even waiting for a reply, she made her way to the exit; but this time, a kunai came out and blocked the doorway. "I cannot let you pass, demon."

"My name is Itzal, you damn pup. It would do you well to show me some respect."

Sakura's body seem to melt away and in her place stood the might demon. "Where is Sakura-chan?" Naruto demanded. "A defense mechanism, I am afraid. Any danger caused to my mistress and I will appear in her place. Do not worry, she is safely slumbering in her mind." Grasping the kunai, Itzal in a matter of seconds shattered the weapon. Blood dripped on to the already damaged wooden floor but he paid no heed to it. "Do you have a death wish?" Facing him, Itzal cornered Neji to the wall and stared. Licking his lips, Itzal pondered on the many different ways one can filet a human.

"A slumbering mistress is a dead mistress, so they say." Itzal breathed excitingly, "There is no one to answer to."

As if on cue, everyone had their weapons out and were on the defense. None had want to meet with the demon in a combat just yet, not when they were still unsure of the limit of his powers.

He basked in all of his glory, he was such an attention-whore. Backing up from cornering the Hyuuga ANBU, Itzal took long calculating looks at each and every human in the room. He was determined to find one who would keep him entertained for a long time; a weak human would not provide as much fun. Amber eyes stopped cold on Naruto. There was something about his chakra that Itzal found, familiar. "You, the blond pup!" Itzal called, "Come with me. I believe we have much to talk about, especially that familiar presence in you."

All eyes shifted to Naruto and Itzal found himself growl at the loss; he was really an attention-whore. Naruto puffed up his chest and gave a determined stare back at the demon, "Do you promise no bloodshed?" Itzal took a step back. This human dare try to bargain with him? He was Itzal, the Shadow Wolf demon! Humans were definitely something. Pondering his options over, Itzal wondered how much blood would bleed for the protection of his human pup if he wanted to just take him. Not interested in the trouble at the moment, Itzal leaned in closer. "Promise", Itzal breathed out.

"Then I will go w-" Naruto stated, only to be interuppted by the Shadow Wolf's jaws around his shirt. "Hey watch it! This is my favorite shirt!" Itzal gave a growl as a warning before leaping into the wall and into the shadows.

"Troublesome."

"Godiame?" "Leave them." She could feel a heavy headache coming and she wasn't happy about it; where was her precious sake when she needed it? Waving away her subordinates, Tsunade opted for some privacy where she can have her own party. Her sake wasn't known to be patient.

---

"Sakura-chan, does he talk to you?"

Sakura turned to Naruto and smiled. As soon as they had landed, the demon had vanished and Sakura was in its place. The threat was gone, Sakura had explained. However, there were still more questions Naruto had in mind. "He? Do you mean Itzal?" The blonde had stopped in his tracks so suddenly that Sakura had to take a few paces to be next to him. "You mean, there's more than one of them?!"

"_Haha, it would seem that the Kyuubi had been trapped inside an idiot."_

Ignoring the Shadow Wolf's smart remarks, Sakura shook her head and pointed a finger to her head before coolly replying, "There's only Itzal in there. Don't worry Naruto, there's no one else."

"Do they talk to you, Naruto?" Looking towards the horizon, Naruto took a second or two before nodding his reply. "They all communicate with us, Sakura-chan, but it is our choice to respond or not." Rubbing his spikes sheepishly, Naruto chuckled. "Though it is hard to ignore them, I tend to talk to Kyuubi more than I should."

Sitting atop the Hokage mountain, both teammates tried to take in the scene of the village below them. While Sakura seemed to be relaxing, Naruto looked to be struggling with himself. "Naruto, do you have something to say?" Eyes still closed, Sakura took one deep inhale before opening her eyes in question.

---

"Tsunade, we have to find them! Naruto is with that.. that thing!"

Waving the ANBU captain off dismissively, Tsunade returned back to her sake. Her eyes remained glued to the window and sighed. "Hyuuga, do you find me stupid?" Not even bothering to wait for a response, the Godiame shook her head in response. "Sakura, no matter what she becomes, will never hurt Naruto. Haven't you noticed that it's always Naruto who brings her back to this world?" Turning around finally, Tsunade locked eyes with the Byukagen wielder's and smirked, as if she knew a private joke.

"Ironically, the Kyuubi is probably unconsciously protecting us."

---

"I want to see him again, Sakura-chan. I want to see Itzal without his bloodlust."

Looking at him in surprise, Sakura glanced around unsure. The sun had just begun to set and deeming the place safe enough, Sakura agreed. She found herself unable to deny Naruto this simple wish.

Standing up, Sakura gestured for them to move into a clearing before she cleared her throat. "Come forth, I command thee, Itzal!"

At first, only the sounds of birds twittering were heard. Naruto scratched his head and laughed a little, "It's okay Sakura-chan. I can see-" He froze as strange writings began to etch itself on to the ground, forming a circle. It glowed and then spiraled into the center. The ground began to open up and darkness was the only thing that greeted Naruto's searching gaze. Suddenly, a paw came out from the shadows and a body soon followed. A pair of haunting amber eyes glowed in the dark and moved towards him. It was the smirk nor the looming form of Sakura's demon that caught his attention, it was the look behind those damn eyes; pure bloodlust.

"I am Itzal, Shadow Wolf of the Void Domain."

---


	8. 07

**Lurking Within**  
_(Part 1 of the trilogy)_

---

**Chapter 07: Bloody Sunsets and Golden Vodka**

---

He slammed his hand onto the dark oak, never mind the table breaking or the splinters embedding into his hand, he was too furious with that... that demon's escape to even notice such trivial matters. He had never felt such strong emotions before. He certainly do not approve of this. Ivory eyes traveled around his room before he turned to the multicolored sky outside. Making a decision, he grabbed his preferred weapon, a pair of twin kodachis, before heading to the window.

It was time to hunt.

---

The pink haired kunoichi of Konoha smirked at the wide eyed expression on her former teammate's face. Growling, Itzal pawed at the string from his neck. The constant pawing was what brought Naruto's attention from Itzal's amber eyes to a collar around it's neck. A thin black string ran from Itzal's neck to Sakura's wrist, where it was wrapped several times. The string was almost invisible to the naked eye, but it was definitely there to show who the possessor of such a beast was.

"Even after generations, this binding is most uncomfortable." Itzal complained as he continued his scratching.

She gave a firm tug to focus Itzal's attention, whom had stopped after spotting an oblivious rabbit not too far away, back to Naruto. "He is Itzal?" The demon gave a brief glare at the blonde, for stating the obvious, before he crouched towards the rabbit; the thrill of a hunt hummed in his blood. "Kyuubi asked if your damned soul is still serving your mistresses." Naruto replied after a minute's pause before adding, "like a dog."

Itzal froze and his deadly stare turned back to the man standing beside his mistress. "Like a dog?"Sakura issued a warning, afraid that he might actually pounce on Naruto, but was met with a barking laugh. "Damn kit hasn't changed a bit!" Patting Naruto on the back, perhaps a bit too hard, Itzal continued to laugh in mirth. However, in a second's glance, he jumped away from his current spot. The jump had swung Sakura to his back where she sat, legs on one side and both hands tightly clamped on the connected string. Where he once stood now stood the ANBU captain, Hyuuga Neji. Sheathing his kodachis, Neji eyed the demon before him cautiously. "Are you harmed, Naruto?" The blonde shook his head and gave a confused look back to the Hyuuga. "Neji, what are you doing? They meant no harm."

"For the protection of Konoha, every threat is to be eliminated." Meeting emerald green, his own pale eyes narrowed in determination. "Haruno Sakura, you are a threat and you will be eliminated." Sakura gave a blank stare before burst out laughing. A brave mortal, stupid but brave, dared to threaten her? Oh how he underestimate her strength._ "Let's teach him a lesson or two." _Itzal suggested through their private link, smirking at the thought of possible blood shed. "If a fight is what you want, you shall get one Hyuuga." He had lunged for her first and with the first move in motion, Itzal danced along with Sakura's guide. Amber eyes looked towards the sky and his smirk widen at the sight of the slowly darkening _sky. _

"Mortal, it would seem that your end is imperiable."

Itzal laughed and, before Neji's very eyes, disappeared. Skidding to a stop, the ANBU captain scanned the area for any signs of life.

"Let's just go, Neji!" Naruto called in vain. This didn't seem like a sparring match, more like a death match, to him. Knowing he would not be able to stop both of them, especially with Sakura and Itzal together, Naruto headed back to Konoha for an extra pair of hands. 'Be alive when I return, Neji!' Naruto prayed and fueling more chakra to his feet, he trekked back to the village.

"It would seem that your only savior abandoned you." Sakura voiced. Her form appeared out of the shadows and Neji watched, wary of any surprise attack from behind. "Oh dear Neji, how much of a coward do you think I am? Do you really think I would attack you from behind?" Lifting her head in pride, she tugged on a string from her wrist to reveal the wolf from the shadows. It would seem as if Itzal literally melted away from the shadows. Caught between his powerful jaws was a rabbit, still twitching with a hint of life. The blood splattering on to the ground was the only noise that was heard as they stood in defense. The sky had darkened, save for a beam of light from the glow of the moon. The shadows seem to love Sakura. It hugged her form lovingly as she delicately made her way to him. The demon behind her made no move and, instead, decided to fascinate himself with the rabbit he had caught. The link stretched and gave no word of stopping.

A hand reached to touch his hair and he tried to pull back, only to be unsuccessful. "Now now Neji, I mean no harm so you should not deny me of such pleasure." He was very aware of the sultry look she gave him but he paid no heed to it, only concentrated on the few tendrils of hair caught in her grip. She reached for the leather string that held his high ponytail together but moved back a couple of paces when the owner pointed his kodachi at her. Smirking, Sakura made her way back to her companion.

"I will occupy your very thoughts and I will not go so easily."

Blowing a mocking kiss, the demon wielder disappeared back into the shadows along with her wolf. A rustle from the trees however caught his eye and two men burst from the forest. Naruto and Kakashi had returned, half expecting blood and gore everywhere, but was instead met with a stony prodigy. "Neji?" Without a word, the said prodigy pushed his way to return back to his sanctuary. This hunt might have gone in her favor but she wouldn't be so lucky next time.

---

Jumping out from the shadows, Sakura shared a brief laugh with Itzal. _"Damn mortal needs to learn his place among us."_ Itzal growled, bunching his muscles to jump to a higher branch where there would be no disturbance. Sakura patted the sleek fur in reassurance before casting her gaze at the moon. "Where is Lemuria, Itzal?" It would've been comical at the sight of the wolf stumbling but the importance of the subject kept her from doing so. _"It would seem that we have to head there soon."_ Finding a more comfortable position, the demon turned his focus on his mistress. _"What do you know of the two clans?" _The young kunoichi pondered this for a while, her eyes caught by the moon. "I only know of the two gods, Odin and Thor, and the tragic story of Rased and Meruhesae."

"_Ah, so you know of Lilith." _Grimacing, Itzal pulled her closer to him. _"Lilith was a strange one, I'll let you know that much. I was not her protector, fortunately. Freyr and Laverna were her two protectors. She was born with both already residing in her. No one knows what had happened after her massacre until nearly a generation later, when the first mistress appeared. She said that she was chosen by her ladyship, Lilith, as the next successor. Legend has it that Lilith had gotten sick of the degradation of the world and had chosen to slumber under heavy guard instead. Lemuria is also known as the den of the tainted souls; the den to those abandoned by the demon or angel clans." _Itzal smirked, _"It is also rumored to be Lady Lilith's final resting ground."_

"_Soon you will acquire your second companion, Eurydice. She will be your day as I am your night. I do not know why the mistresses only have one companion but rumor does have it that Lilith only wanted people to remember her legacy, not take over. Perhaps she didn't want a heiress to legacy she had paved. Just her name, the thought of her, brought many strong warriors to their knees."_

This time when Itzal paused, his tone changed. _"I was not the first demon chosen to be the guardian of the mistresses. Melanthios was the first protector but he soon died in combat. If this shall ever happen, you must find a demon to take my place." _Sakura nodded in compliance and a cold trickle in her mind indicated Itzal had returned to his primary residence. _"I can not promise complete obedience, no demon can. I can only control my bloodlust to a certain limit. You must detach yourself from such trivial things as emotion, just like Lilith had. It will only serve to kill you in the end."_

She did not need to be told twice. Sasuke, the sole survivor of the Uchiha massacre, had tore her heart out and left in its place a blood reminder. She had loved him so much, only to be constantly pushed aside. She wanted him to stay. She was willing to sacrifice everything, she was willing to help rebuild his clan, for god's sake! However, he had pushed her away and left; he had chosen to become missing nin instead of loving her. Scoffing, Sakura turned towards the moon for comfort. They were under the same sky, but they were still a world apart, it would seem. Shaking out of such gloomy thoughts, she turn to head back but a stir in the wind made her stand alert.

---

Deep violet eyes stared from the deep thicket of green, eying the human before him. He was fooled for a second that she was a mere mortal, a meal perhaps, but once the moon shone on her it revealed the girl's true identity. Every demon was able to recognize each other by a special signature or symbol. A symbol glowed on the girl's forehead, indicating she contained one of his kind. Tilting his head in amusement, he swung his tail around territorially. Lunging from his hiding place, he aimed for her throat.

---

Jumping from her place, she saw a massive blur land where she resided before. Sakura growled a low warning. The moonlight caressed the creature's dark orange fur rippled with black stripes. It was a little surprising that the being in front of her was a demon, though not of Itzal's kin. "You have quick reflexes, mortal." Chuckling, the demon bowed in greeting. "My name is Adonis and I believe you have one of my kind residing in you." Tilting his head in confusion, Adonis nodded to her. "I do believe that the race of Odin and Thor had died out to the point of near extinction. Even if their race still existed, you wouldn't be found near here. Who are you?"

A pure ripple of lust pass through her bloodstream, this was what Itzal had been waiting for. She tried to maintain her composure but it was hopeless with Itzal thrashing restlessly inside of her. It has been a while since he met one of his kind and he did not want to waste this opportunity of a potential fight. His bloodlust was still evident, having said that the slaughter of a mere rabbit or two was not enough. "Ah, I see that your demon would like a fight?" Issuing a prideful smirk, he puffed his white furred chest in a challenge. "Then I will show you, my dear one, how a true demon fights!" As he prepared for another lunge, he was met with deadly amber eyes. Quickly twisting out of danger, Adonis stared at the demon in front of him. The tiny girl he was talking to had disappeared and instead, left a bloodthirsty wolf in her wake. What had he done?

"_A rogue demon?" _He barked a fur-raising laugh before flashing him a sight of his own razor sharp canines._ "Come little cat, I shall play with you. You will satisfy my thirst."_

Horrified shrieks, screaming of unexplainable torture, haunted the inhabitants of Konoha as they dreamed of a demon shrouded in shadows with eyes the color of golden vodka; poisonous and bitter.

---

A/N: Not sure how much readers I have to this fic and if I am to continue. If there are any suggestions, they are welcomed and I am trying to update much more frequently.


	9. 08

**Lurking Within**  
_(Part 1 of the trilogy)_

**Chapter 08: The Lurking Animal**

This was what he lived for. His senses came alive with the metallic smell, the sound of the life dripping onto the grass, the taste of copper, and the look of pure fear in his victim. Crackling, the Itzal possessed Sakura added another deep gash in the tiger demon's stomach. It was done to ensure maximum pain but not enough damage that the demon will bleed out. He was no rookie in this field; his victims must all last until his bloodlust was satisfied. Unfortunately, for Adonis, this may take longer than usual.

"Have you finally succumb to the mere animal inside you?"

Even without turning around, Itzal knew who the intruder was. He felt his mistress stir from her light slumber and he groaned. "Must you interrupt constantly?" Itzal growled as his conscience slipped away and his mistress's conscience woke up. Sakura yawned and stretched her limbs, knowing her lack of interest in Gaara was ticking him off. "What do we have here? A rouge demon? I can't say I've seen your kind before Itzal showed up." Crouching down, Sakura gave some nudges into the demon's side. Adonis mewed in pain and tried to plead for mercy, but it fell on deaf ears. "Rest up, Itzal has plans for you." She gave a sadistic smile before turning to the fuming redhead. "Gaara! What a pleasant surprise. Can't say the same for Itzal though. It would seem that you have interrupted his get-together." Pausing, Sakura's grin widen. "Unless Shukaku wanted to join in? Itzal would gladly show you a much deserved welcome."

-_Let me out! I will gladly return the favor.-_

Composing himself, Gaara glared in return. "Look at yourself. You give into the bloodlust so easily. Have you no self-restraint?" Gaara growled. He crossed his arms and said in a haughty tone, "Perhaps you are just a mere animal." Emerald eyes snapped up and if looks could kill, Gaara would be feeling the flames from the fiery pits of hell right now. "A mere animal?" Sakura threw her head back in laughter, "Do not lecture me on your definition of what it means to be an animal. The way I see it," Sakura growled with a glint in her eyes, "you've always been an animal."

With an animalistic snarl, Gaara slammed Sakura into one of the nearby tree, the bark digging into her skin. "I will show you an animal." Sand began to gather and Sakura stiffened a little. _"Itzal?"_ Without another word, the etchings of a portal began to appear on the grounds. "Calling your pet, are we?" Gaara smirked, "Shukaku told me an interesting tidbit. You see, every demon has its own weakness that they keep a secret from one another. However, Shukaku has found your demon's greatest strength is his weakness." Sakura gave a confused glance in Itzal's direction. The wolf demon had paused and looked as if he was debating whether Gaara was telling the truth or not.

"I call your buff." Sakura glared.

Gaara snarled and closed his hand around her pale neck, tightening as she struggled against him. Beside them, Itzal leapt into action, only to be faced with total darkness. The sand that had once been quivering around them had assembled itself into a sand dome, blocking all source of light. "Your animal cannot access his power in total darkness. Shadows do not exist in darkness. Therefore, Itzal cease to exist in this environment." The red head gave another squeeze and basked in the grunt of pain Sakura gave.

"Itzal?" Sakura groaned out, her eyes trying to adjust to the dark.

"_I can't do anything, mistress. The darkness is binding and without any hint of light, I cannot access my powers from my realm."_ Itzal apologized.

"Where is your knight in shining armor now, Haruno?" Gaara gave a sinister smile and in his mind, Shukaku was positively basking in the moment. _-This is what life should be_- Shukaku crackled.

Closing her eyes in understanding, Sakura reopened them to reveal emerald eyes glowing with determination. "I don't need any help to hurt you, Gaara." Lifting her hand, Sakura's palm met Gaara's face with a sound slap. The sound reverberated around the dome and Sakura felt Gaara's hold loosen. Gaara was still trying to grasp what had transpired between the two. The stinging pain on his cheek told him that it was not his imagination that the girl had slapped him; however, the sudden spark from the contact between his face and her palm, and his hands and her neck, was telling him that this was not normal.

Releasing his hold on her, as if he was burned from the touch of her skin, Gaara leapt back just in time. Itzal the Shadow Wolf was not amused by the stunt Gaara and Shukaku had just pulled, and revenge was strong on his mind. "Are you okay, Mistress?" Itzal asked, concern laced heavily in his tone. While his mind was focused on his mistress's well-being, his eyes remained trained on the red head from Suna. "I am fine, Itzal." She rest her hand on his tail and gave a firm, but reassuring, squeeze. "It will bruise but nothing I cannot handle." Her hands went up to her throat and gave a soft caress.

A staring match began for the two demon wielders and while their demons wanted to hash this out through body mutilation and bloody wounds, the two humans held fast. "You will do well to not cross me again, Haruno." Gaara finally broke the silence and disappeared in a whirl of sand.

"That coward!" Itzal snarled, his paws digging into the spot where Gaara had left with Shukaku in him. "I will rip his internal organs out from his living, breathing, body!" Alternating between digging and pounding the ground, Itzal unleashed his fury and his thoughts of revenge. A soft scratching noise from behind the two occupants drew their attention from Itzal's childish outburst to an eavesdropper. Itzal's hazel eyes widen and narrowed at having a living punching bag.

Adonis was trying his hardest to run away. At first, he was in too much pain and fear to even contemplate on moving but it would seem as if the wolf and the demon child were well distracted enough for him to make his move. He could feel the life leaking out from all the wounds scattered all over his body, but Adonis did not want to die. He was in his prime and hadn't even gotten about to mating yet; he can not die here. His eyes spotted some dense bushes not to far from where he laid, and so, putting all his strength into his upper arms, Adonis proceeded to drag his body into the foliage in hopes of hiding. His mind concentrated on pulling and digging his claws into the soft earth. However, with his concentration focused on his escape, he failed to notice that his distraction was no longer there. If he had turned around, he would've seen the golden eyes of his predator stalking his every move.

"Now, now, where do you think you're going my little kitten?"

Adonis froze in mid-pull and refused to turn around. It was all a nightmare, Adonis repeated to himself, it was all a nightmare and he was going to wake up in his den. But the heavy breathing behind his ear told him a different story.

"I commend you for trying to escape, even with the pain you must be feeling." Itzal smirked. "However, your failure to escape me will be your punishment. This will teach you to lesson on how to escape better, if you survive."

This was no dream, Adonis realized, it was a living nightmare.

High above Konoha, on the mountain carved with the faces of past Hokages, sat a very confused redhead. Jade eyes rimmed with insomnia were locked in a fierce battle with his hands. He had felt a spark, no doubt about it. And while he gave up a long time ago on deciding if he was insane or not, this instance made him ponder the question a bit. Maybe Shukaku was playing with his mind when he had made contact with the girl. _-Surely you jest. I have better things to do than to play tricks with you._- The raccoon demon in his head proceeded to sketch out detail plans on how to filet a certain wolf demon in his head, ignoring the internal turmoil his human container was having. Shaking his head, Gaara gave himself a brief tap on the head. He must have imagined it then. There was no way, he would feel anything besides pain; especially not from that girl.

Reaching an agreeable decision and explanation, Gaara leaned back and gazed at the glow of Konoha. If he wasn't a demon holder, a child of such an abused past, then perhaps he could have even thought of Konoha as beautiful; but you can not change the past and Gaara was never one to think of anything as beautiful. But even so, he couldn't get the colors of bubble gum pink and emerald green out of his head.

It is an okay image, Gaara shrugged.

**Author's Note:** Okay! I know! VERY long hiatus BUT so many obstacles have blocked me from writing this one chapter. First, I've finally graduated from college and job hunting is proving to be difficult. Second, my external hard drive of 7 years has crashed on me; I am unable to retrieve any of my drafts, outlines, and quick story ideas I've written. Yeah, that got me into a bawling mess. However, I tried to man up and has written a new plot. It is definitely different from what I had planned but hopefully this would be better. Leave tons of reviews and as always, enjoy!


	10. 09

**Lurking Within**  
_(Part 1 of the trilogy)_

**Chapter 09: The Naruto Rehab**

"How long until we arrive at the gates?"

Looking up at the gloomy sky, Kakashi gave an estimate of 2 hours before they return home from their week long mission. "Do you think she'll be waiting for us?" Naruto pondered, his eyes focused on the path his feet had memorized. The former sensei gave a snort at the thought. It was not attractive but it served its purpose since Naruto faltered mid-step in response. Feeling the need to clarify his own response, Kakashi explained, "She's under probation after what Gaara had reported back to the hokage. If by any miracle she is there waiting for us, she will most likely accompanied by ANBU as well. Imagine the welcome we will receive."

"I don't mind," Naruto smirked, his cerulean eyes brightening at the thought of a grand welcoming. "All I want is for Sakura-chan to be there."

Kakashi sighed. When will he understand that things will never be how they use to be? Their dysfunctional team 7 had began to crumble with the abandonment of Sasuke; and with a wound that refused to heal, it began to fester and finally infected every aspect of the team's life. There were constant reminders of their former teammate and the pain he left behind. But while Kakashi was never an optimistic man, Naruto had insisted to live on life like everything was okay. Sakura took Naruto's philosophy and had done the same. Eventually Kakashi began to believe that maybe, just maybe, everything would be okay but then the incident with Sakura happened.

He shook his head to clear his mind a bit. Now was not the time to dwell on the past or his failures. Sneaking a glance at Naruto, he gave a tiny smile. At least one of the team member was on the right path.

It took a little less than 2 hours, due to Naruto's persistent speeding, to reach Konoha's gates. Naruto pretended as if he wasn't disappointed by the lack of a particular person's presence, and Kakashi pretended as if he hasn't already expected this outcome. Both had gotten so well at pretending that it was almost natural to them. "I bet the old hag has Sakura-chan holed up in her office doing paperwork." Naruto tried to explain, though his smile was too bright and too plastic for it to fool his former sensei. "You're probably right," was Kakashi's all too fake response, accompanied by an eye crinkle he was known for.

"I'll go report us Kakashi-sensei!"

Before Naruto even finished his sentence, Kakashi had already disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Rolling his eyes, Naruto stretched his arms up and folded it behind his back. 'Everytime,' Naruto mused. 'He was always the first to leave after a mission and the last to arrive.'

"I'm back!" Naruto screamed as he lifted a foot to act out his grand entrance. However, before his foot made contact with the oak doors, it swung open and a fist connected with his face. "Quiet down!" Tsunade glowered at the blonde nursing a head wound at the side of the hallway. "How many times do I have to tell you to show some respect and quiet down!" Tsunade's powerful voice echoed throughout the building and evidently, in Naruto's ear

"You old hag! You're the one yelling now!"

Straightening up, the Godiame gave one last glare before ushering him into her office. "I assume the mission was successful?"

Naruto smirked in response, "Did you think any different? After all, the future hokage was on the mission!"

Tsunade sighed and rubbed her temples in response. "I haven't named anyone yet."

"That's okay. I already know you've chosen me!"

"Says you."

"Old hag!"

"She missed her check-in today."

It took a full minute before Naruto caught up to what Tsunade was talking about. The change in his facial expression told Tsunade that he was fairly aware of who he was talking about and the consequences that could possibly come from it. "Can I be dismissed?" Naruto's neutral tone spoke volumes and Tsunade nodded.

With Naruto gone, Tsunade felt as if she had aged ten years in the process. The situation with Sakura had spiraled more and more out of control. It seemed as if it was just yesterday that her apprentice would come storming into her office, energetic and optimistic. But now, her dear apprentice is an empty shell of her former self. Leaning back in her chair, Tsunade reached for her sake in her hidden compartment. She took a long swing of the alcohol and relished the feel of the liquid nursing her nerves. A breeze from one of the open windows turned her attention from the sake bottle to the monument dedicated to the past leaders of Konoha.

Her duty was to protect the people of Konoha, even those whom have strayed from the path of righteousness, and she was not going to fail.

It didn't take him long to find the pink haired woman. It certainly helped that ANBU was lurking around the area. As soon as the door squeaked open, Naruto was hit suddenly with the smell of alcohol, vomit, and sweat. Among the gloomy patrons and the dark interior, Sakura was a beacon that drew Naruto in like a moth to a flame.

"Ya here for her?"

Naruto turned his attention slightly to the scruffy bartender whom stood on edge. In fact, taking a quick peek around the room, all the patrons seemed to be on edge. They've all heard of the pink haired demoness who terrorized the local bars and the patrons alike. He issued a quick nod and the sigh of relief from the bartender didn't go unnoticed.

Squaring his shoulders for the unavoidable encounter, Naruto crossed the room to Sakura in a matter of seconds. "Sakura.." Naruto called out, but his reply was nonexistent. She continued to drink, as if he was a figment of her imagination. Finally, after what felt like eternity, Naruto took matters into his own hands literally. Grabbing her on the arm, Naruto yanked her on her feet and proceeded to drag her out the hard way. "What do you think you're doing?" She hissed. Her only acknowledgment of the blonde. Pushing her out of the bar and into the streets, Naruto assessed her condition. Her once glossy pink hair had become a sad array of matted pink that had started to gather some foul odor. Her face was caked with dirt and her clothes had clearly seen better days. But the most heartbreaking scene for Naruto, was her eyes. They had lost its luster and had dulled to a cloudy emerald, no longer shining or vibrant.

"Who do you think you are?" Her speech slurred and she stumbled her way towards him. She pushed her index finger into his vest repeatedly and Naruto tried to make sense of her speech. "No right... business here... grown... Konoha.. Sasuke." Upon hearing their former teammate's name, Naruto lost all sense of self-control.

"Sasuke? How dare you mention his name in front of me! I've been trying my best to keep up with my promise to you, Sakura, but can you say the same? You've promised us, all those who cared for you, that this was going to be the last time. How many last times before it does truly become the last time? How many times have one of your friends held your hair back as you puked up your entire stomach? How many times have we gone out looking for you, only to find you lying somewhere drunk? How many times, Sakura, have you failed us?"

Naruto yelled, "You can't keep doing this Sakura! We all have our demons and we've moved on from it! So what if I have the nine tails in me? So what if I am a demon child? I've learned to accept it and moved on; use it to my advantage and make it become a part of my strength and weakness. And so what if that bastard's entire family was massacred by his brother? So what if has betrayed his home, friends, and ancestors? He has twisted it to become his life's purpose and is forever moving towards that goal. But what about you, Sakura? What about you?" Shaking his head in frustration, Naruto continued on his tough love. "So what if you used to be weak? You've moved on from that and used your strengths to become one of the best medics out there! So what if Sasuke has broken your heart and your trust? Someone will come along to heal your heart and if no one comes, time will. So what if you have a demon inside of you now? Use it to your advantage!"

Slumping down to the silent girl, Naruto leaned over and wiped away her tears softly. "We can't keep doing this, Sakura-chan. We all have lives that we've got to get back to; you have a life to get back to. You've been in this fog for far too long and you've slowly lost your support system one by one. You're going to drown one day. We can't and won't be doing this anymore, Sakura; come back to us." Patting her cheeks gently, Naruto stood and nodded towards one of the ANBU nearby before he began the long journey home.

It was funny, Naruto thought, how he was no longer excited at the thought of going home.

With her teammate gone, everything had dulled into a quiet buzz. His voice and everything he had said continued to ring in her ear, even without his presence. Shaking her head, as if to shake out his voice as well, Sakura could feel her own chakra working overtime in cleanse her system. _'Why did you do it?'_ Itzal asked, _'Did you not know you were drinking poison?'_

Poison?

Sakura burst out laughing. 'That wasn't poison, Itzal. It was alcohol.'

_'I don't care about what you mortals call it, but it is pure poison. Do you not feel it dulling your senses? I was choking in here! Why would you drink such a thing?' _Itzal grumbled and Sakura rubbed her head in frustration. His badgering was almost as worse as Naruto's. Except while she could escape from Naruto's badgering, though a hard task, Itzal's badgering was inescapable. "I wanted to forget," Sakura voiced out loud. "I wanted to forget all about Sasuke and the heartache that came with him. Forget about the amount of times I've failed and how weak I was. I also did not want to think about you, Itzal. Possessing you has marked me as a demon! Konoha, my home, will now see me nothing more than a lurking danger."

Itzal was quiet and Sakura had thought that perhaps she had insulted the wolf demon, but it was a mere moment before he spoke. _'There are other ways to forget, Mistress. While I may have given you an addition of abilities, you still have to train and tune these abilities. Distract your mind from these idle thoughts with training. You must also work towards finding Eurydice. You cannot possibly think that you can find that damned angel by just sitting around. Distract yourself with finding her! And home? The moment you've been chosen, Konoha no longer became your home. Lemuria can be your new home. Forget this way, not that of taking poision.'_

"Lemuria? The den of the tainted souls?"

_'You cannot possibly think that your soul is pure anymore. Your soul will forever be tainted with that of a demon's and soon, with that of a fallen angel. It will be intertwined with ours.'_ Itzal explained. _'Heaven or a magical place among the fluffy clouds, whatever you mortals believe in; you no longer have access into that realm. Your soul, Haruno Sakura, is tainted.'_ Withdrawing himself from the conversation, Itzal turned his back on his mistress and slipped further into her mind. He had done his best to remind her of what was priority and what was a burden. Now she had to make her own decision.

It was a slow change, one Tsunade had been hesitant to believe in, but it was a change nonetheless. Slowly, over a month's time, Sakura had gone from frequently haunting the bars to the training grounds. She no longer missed her check-ins and had actually begun showing up early instead. Instead of acting out her anger on the fellow ANBU flanking her, the targets on the training grounds felt the pain. She no longer overstepped her boundaries and instead followed protocol. With baby steps, Tsunade can slowly see hints of their beloved Sakura.

Her happiness, however, came to a screeching halt once her eyes glanced over the report in front of her. While this had only come in through rumors and may not be true, she didn't want to take any chances. Closing her eyes and trying to think ahead, Tsunade began to formulate a group together for this particular situation. "Shizune," Tsunade called. "Please get me Sabaku no Gaara. He will need to accompany this team."

"You're late!"

Crinkling his eye, Kakashi gave a one hand wave before leaning against the wall. Even with all the glares from everyone in the room, Kakashi still hung on to his unaffected attitude. Tsunade cleared her throat and the attention eventually focused onto her. "While it has only been reported as rumors, I cannot take the risk of it becoming true." Tsunade started, "As you all may know, Uchiha Sasuke is in the company of Orochimaru. Rumors have been circling that Orochimaru has scheduled plans of taking over Sasuke's body within the next couple of days or weeks. You are to validate or invalidate this information. We need to be prepared."

Her eyes trained to Sakura, whom had stiffened at the mention of Sasuke. It was for a split second before her demeanor shifted to that of a porcelain doll. "Do we need such an extensive team?" Kakashi questioned from the back of the room.

"In case the rumors are true, there is a high possibility that there will be a change in the mission." Tsunade answered. The room was heavy with tension and everyone felt the weight of her words, even Naruto. "I'll bring him back." Naruto declared, his eyes blazing and they locked briefly with Sakura's. "I will bring him back to Konoha."

A dozen emotions flashed in emerald eyes before fading. "Does she need to be here?" Neji spat out. "Yes." Tsunade answered in a heartbeat. Her own honey eyes made contact with emerald and she tried to stress the importance of the situation to her. It had taken a while to convince the elders to give Sakura permission to partake in this mission. The elders had accepted on the condition of it being a test of her allegiance and a chance to assess her skills with the shadow demon, in case she does make contact with the Uchiha brat. Sabaku no Gaara and Neji had even been given permission to take any measures necessary if she wavered in her allegiance with Konoha.

"Hyuuga Neji, Hyuuga Hinata, Hatake Kakashi, Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, do you accept this mission?"

**A/N: **Writer's block! Even with the guide, it was a little hard to express myself. HOWEVER, there is an upcoming chapter I'm itching to write! Watch out for it!


	11. 10

**Lurking Within**  
_(Part 1 of the trilogy)_

**Chapter 10: Circus**

The morning sun crept up from its sleep slowly; painting the sky in an array of pastel blue, orange, pink, and yellow. The forest had begun to buzz with the noise of its inhabitants: birds chirping and bugs buzzing. The weather was wonderful that day, with it being at a Goldilocks's temperature of just right.

It was an overall perfect day for everyone except for one, Hyuuga Neji.

He tried to ignore the sun slowly rising in the sky as he was not a morning person. The sounds of the birds happy melody were becoming irritating and he felt a headache coming on. It also didn't help that the village's loud mouth was on this mission with them. He will never be able to get Naruto's voice out of his head at this rate. A hint of pink and red flashed next to him and he felt this irritation skyrocket. His blood had nearly boiled over when he had found out that that _demon_ was part of the team, but when he saw Sabaku no Gaara standing at their meeting point early that morning; he nearly torn out his precious hair in frustration.

"What is with Neji this morning? Is he not a morning person?"

An eyebrow twitched and Neji tried harder to concentrate only on the path ahead instead of Naruto's not so secretive whisper. "H-he's just focus on the m-mission." Hinata answered with as minimal stuttering as she could. Her face, however, refused to fade from the cherry red it had become. "Are you okay, Hinata? You're turning red! Are you hot? Neji! I think Hinata is about to pass out!" Naruto called out from behind. Neji clenched his fists a little tighter as his eyebrows had a mini seizure of irritated twitches.

"No! It's okay!" Hinata squeaked in embarrassment and she sneaked another glance at her cousin. She didn't think his aura could turn any darker but it had and she shivered at the cold vibes. Neji was most certainly not a morning person.

After traveling for hours, the team stopped and made camp. Sakura sneaked a glance at Gaara and gave a sound growl. When she had saw him this morning, all hell almost broke loose. She had made enough progress to think that Tsunade would allow her to participate in missions without her 'guardian'. That was, however, not the case. The redhead had simply whipped out a scroll from the hokage when Neji had asked why he was present; he was to accompany the team, mainly her, on this mission. Safety precautions, the scroll had wrote.

Sakura scoffed, safety precautions her ass. Setting up her sleeping bag at a desired location, she glanced over and noticed Gaara picking his resting spot as far away as he possibly could. _'That's right, mortal. You wouldn't you throat ripped out in the middle of the night.'_ Itzal growled from within her mind. The pink hair girl rolled her eyes at the animosity between the two demons and continued to scan around the campsite. Neji was the only other present, as everyone had scattered to gather wood and other necessities. Currently the captain of the team was polishing his blades but she could tell that despite his blank expression, he was anything but calm. In fact, she noticed small hints of tension in his arm and an occasional twitch of his brow.

She smirked and slowly made her way over, basking in the knowledge that he got more and more tense. Calmly taking a seat next to him, she stretched her arms and rubbed her back gently against the bark of the tree behind them. Emerald eyes slyly glanced over at the Hyuuga prodigy. He still had that stupid blank expression on his face but his hand gripping the blade had tightened and paused in their polishing. "Neji why so tense?" She pointed out innocently. She will always get a kick out of prodding and provoking him. Neji's body tensed some more before he relaxed and continue his ministrations. He had trained to block out all distractions and this pink haired demoness was no different.

"Oh come now, Neji-kun," Sakura pouted. "You can't possibly be trying to ignore little ole me?" She faltered at the lack of response before her determination kicked in. Her sensei, Tsunade, had always loved that quality in her. Once Sakura set her mind to a task, she worked at it to no end. This was no different; instead of cracking a medical jutsu, it was the emotionally constipated Hyuuga Neji at the receiving end of her determination today. Pouting even more and leaning ever closer, Sakura made sure her soft body pressed against his arm.

"Neji-kun," she purred. "How about I help you relax?"

Her jounin training, and her anticipation, kicked in as soon as she saw the muscles in his arm tensed up. Jumping clear of the kodachi's way, Sakura managed to lose only a few pink tendrils. Chuckling, Sakura sashayed over to her belongings. "Did I touch a nerve?" Smirking at the fuming Hyuuga, Sakura turned and walked towards the forest. "Maybe a cold bath will give teach me a lesson." The demon wielder disappeared into the lush greens but Hyuuga, with his bloodline, could clearly make out her shoulders shaking with laughter. Growling to himself at the lack of control, Neji resumed to take out his rage on the pair of kodachi in front of him. With his concentration now focused on polishing the hell out his weapons, he failed to notice the lack of another presence.

_'Do you really have to talk to that mortal?'_ Itzal grumbled.

Ever since meeting Neji and the disrespect he shown towards the shadow demon, Itzal had hated him; even going as far as mentally categorizing the Hyuuga in the black list. "Oh Itzal, you know I'm only doing it for fun?" Sakura explained, her laughter still echoing into still forest. A small smile appeared on her face once she located the small lake she had seen. It was a bit further away from their campsite, giving her enough privacy for a relaxing bath. Lush greens and tall trees framed the lake and even though the sky had begun to darken, there was enough light shining through to light her way.

Quickly discarding her sweaty clothes on the side, Sakura slid her body into the cool waters. _'You're provoking him like one would prod and nudge at an animal. Do not get bitten.'_ Itzal warned, his dislike for the pale eye man still shining through. Nodding to pacify her inner beast, Sakura focused her attention on ridding her body of the amount of grime collected from their journey thus far. Once she felt that she had scrubbed enough, she held her breath and dove under. Rubbing her body and hair furiously, Sakura only rose from under the water once she was certain she had rid herself of any soap.

"What did you think you were doing?"

Brushing apart the veil of pink covering her eyes, Sakura barely spared a glance at the red head floating in the water next to her. "Don't you think I should be asking you that question?" She gave a quick rub to her face before facing the intruder. Itzal thrashed around inside her and she held on to her control of the beast. Gaara gave no reply and simply stared at the woman in front of her. Her bubblegum pink hair was slicked back and laid on her shoulders gently. Water created a trail from her face and then back into the lake she was in. Wet dark lashes framed her hard jewel eyes and they were currently mocking him. His attention immediately shifted to those full pink lips pulled into a snarl. Her ivory body was covered by the water, with only hints of her chest above water. He could still remember how her skin felt under his hands.

"Do you see something you like?"

Snapping out of what ever thoughts he had in his mind, Gaara glared at the vixen in front of him. Damn, she just caught him staring; hell, he can't believe he was staring in the first place! He tilted his chin a little higher and focused his attention towards the side of the lake instead. She shouldn't be worth his attention or thoughts. Scoffing at his holier than thou attitude, she walked towards the shore. Modesty be damned! She couldn't let the opportunity, to rub in his face even more, go. Water slithered and caressed her body as she walked towards the shallows. Wrapping her body with the towel she brought, Sakura turned and found that the sand master had disappeared. She shrugged in response and basked in her own private time alone from the rest of the team.

A distance away, Gaara stomped his way towards the campsite. Innocent green vegetation felt the brute of his anger and rage, crushed under his boots. Even with the amount of rage he put into his stomping, he couldn't completely clear the image of soft skin and her shapely body out of his mind.

"Don't think that you can ever get away with pulling that stunt again."

Turning his attention away from crushing the green plants beneath his boots, while he pictured them as someone else, he growled at the appearance of the copy-nin. Kakashi stood a foot apart with his back against one of the trees. While his body language seemed calm, Gaara wasn't fooled even for a moment. He looked as if he was a tiger waiting to pounce on a prey. "You are her guardian but there are still boundaries. Remember that." Kakashi warned, his eyes fixated on the red head in front of him. "And what about you, Hatake?" Facing the man with a snarl, Gaara continued. "Don't you think it is a little to late to play the concerned parent?" Leaving the man in his thoughts, Gaara continued back to the rest of the group. He hated group missions.

It was the smell of food that dragged her from the lake and back to camp. She made her entrance with a towel draped over her head and a pile of dirty clothes in her arms. The sight, however, made her wish she was back at the lakeside enjoying the serenity it provided. In one corner was Neji, glaring and focused on the task at hand. Sakura almost felt bad for the pair of kodachi Neji was furiously polishing away. Gaara sat on the opposite end of the campsite. He was busy snarling at any leaves that fell from the trees above and grinding his foot into the grass beneath him. Leaning on one of the treetops, Kakashi had his faithful obnoxious orange book out. His focus, however, seemed to be in a distance far from the human mind and not at the explicit images displayed in his book. Amid all the negativity was Naruto and Hinata, cuddled near the fireplace sharing a ramen cup. Hinata was bright red and Sakura had a suspicion that it wasn't because of the fire. Oblivious to everything, as always, Naruto was busy rambling. He tried to feed Hinata portions of the ramen, which he blew to cool down, but the Hyuuga heir looked as if she was fighting just to remain conscious.

Rubbing the towel over her hair, Sakura took her respective spot. "Well aren't we a bunch."

**A/N:** An update? Yes I'm trying my hardest to update a bit more frequently. Don't expect this to be an everyday thing, but I will try to update more. Also, I've noticed that I haven't given my reviewers enough credit. I can't begin to describe the feeling I get when I see an e-mail telling me that someone has either +fav my story or +alert! But I think the sunshine of it all is when I get an e-mail telling me that someone took time out of their hands to write me a review. No matter how tiny or how long a review is, it really does mean a lot to me. So in this note, I would like to say a huge **Thank You** to my reviewers and readers. You keep me motivated when I lack the willpower to write. And for that, I dedicate this chapter to you.


	12. 11

**Lurking Within**  
_(Part 1 of the trilogy)_

**Chapter 11: Blind Fool**

"There is a god!" Naruto whooped with glee as soon as their sights set upon the gates of a small town.

After about a week of traveling in the rugged woods, any hints of civilization was a welcomed sight. It was a torturous week for the group as they all had clashed in personalities and own personal problems. Naruto had continued on to be his obnoxious, boisterous self, during the whole week. Neji, Kakashi, and Gaara had been in the dumps and snapped at anything that rippled in the wind. Hinata had fainted a couple of times throughout the week, usually related to Naruto; and Sakura was beginning to think she was the only sane one of the group. Itzal gave a wry chuckle at the thought.

"I think it would be a nice change of scenery if we settle in one of the inns than on the forest floor." Kakashi proposed.

With no opposition, the group quickly settled into a close-by inn and divided into rooms. The rooms were simple but efficient. They had their own private bathroom in each room with two sets of towels. There was a small wooden table in the middle of the room with a set of porcelain teaware. The dark rosewood floors gave a tiny squeak as Sakura made her way towards the bed closest to the windows. "I'm going to take a walk outside." Sakura gave a backward wave to Hinata who was preparing for a bath. Once outside, Sakura took a deep breath of the crisp air. The fresh morning air was beginning to cool down as the night slowly crept over the sky. The beginnings of stars were starting to peek through and the sky was colored in beautiful shades of pastel.

Her heels made a soft clicking noise on the cobble path as she walked further into the town square. Small shops dotted the area and even as the morning light dimmed, the street lights grew brighter in response. Soon, it illuminated the town square and Sakura couldn't help but compare the tiny white lights to fairy lights; hovering over the people as they chattered cheerfully. Eying each stand and shop with mild curiosity, Sakura took in the different trinkets offered. It wasn't until she reached the center of the town that she stopped, her eyes glued to a particular stand. It wasn't flashy or big, but that wasn't the reason it caught her attention. The sweet smell of dango floated towards her and brought back memories she thought she had long suppressed.

**Flashback**

"Sasuke-kun!"

The young Uchiha gave no hint of stopping in his tracks or recognition. "Sasuke-kun!" Sakura called once more. She increased her pace and shrugged off the thought of Sasuke possibly ignoring her. Finally caught up to her crush, Sakura gave a big smile especially reserved for her Sasuke-kun. "Would you like to grab some dango?" Sakura asked as she struggled to keep in pace with the Uchiha's quickened steps. It wasn't until she crashed into his back that she realized he had stopped; she hadn't expect that.

"I hate dango. You're annoying."

Those simple words paralyzed her and she watched with glassy eyes as Sasuke continued on his way. It wasn't until much later that she had found out, from Ino of all people, that Itachi had loved dango; whatever Itachi loved, Sasuke hated.

**End of Flashback**

Ino's teasing voice, "I can't believe you didn't know that forehead girl!", still rang in her mind whenever that memory surfaced. Without giving another look back, Sakura walked past the small stand. It was the past, her ugly past, and she shouldn't have thoughts of him still. "-intimidating. I was almost scared to look into his eyes. Red, like those of a demon's. Those are the kind of business I can live without."

Red eyes?

She came to a slow stop in front of a trinkets shop and pretended to be engrossed in the small plush doll in front of her as she eavesdropped on the conversation behind her. "Did they stay in one of the inns? Is it Momoko's? She always attracted the wrong crowd." The other shop owner commented. "Fortunately, he walked toward the town exit. I think they headed west." Her feet moved on its own accord towards the direction the shop owner said. While her face showed no emotions, her inside said otherwise. Her palms were sweaty and her heart beat a mile a minute at the thought of who it might be, who it was, just outside the town border; Sasuke. Just thinking of his name made her heart clench and it made her run just a little faster.

_'While I do usually support your lone efforts, I do not agree this time. I've heard of those cursed eyes and I will be no help to you if he were to turn them to me.' _Itzal warned desperately, his form pacing about in her mind. _'You must gather the rest of your pack.'_

"It might be too late by the time I find the rest of my team." Sakura clenched her fists tightly, "I can't let him walk away Itzal. Not this time, not anymore."

The wolf demon could sense a double meaning behind her words and chose to fall silent instead. His steady stream of chakra to her, however, showed his support. '_I do not approve of this, Mistress, but I am under your command.'_

Muttering silent thanks, Sakura continued to race against the clock and towards the town exit. What was she to say to him when they meet? How did she plan on retrieving the Konoha traitor? Would he be the same? Questions beyond questions bombarded her mind and she could feel herself suffocating._'Breathe, young one. We will find a way.' _Following the demon's instructions, Sakura felt the calm and cool facade she became accustomed to, over the months, come over her. It took another couple of minutes before she reached the town exit and an even longer time before she felt any hint of chakra nearby. It was suppressed and if it hadn't been for Itzal's keen senses, she was sure that she would've missed it.

_'I smell fish and the ocean.'_

Thanking the gods for her skills at chakra control, she tried her best to suppress her own as well. She made sure to continue the rest of the way on foot, going as slowly and as quietly as possible. Not a bush rustled too loudly or a twig crunched too soundly under her foot as Sakura inched her way towards what she deemed as camp. Her efforts were not disappointed as sight of a small campfire drew near. Two hunched over forms by the campfire greeted her eyes as she got as close as she dared. There was something about these two that had Sakura back away slowly. Squinting her eyes to make out the designs on the black cloaks, Sakura barely kept in her gasp.

Red clouds.

One of the men got up and walked closer to the fire to examine the fish roasting gently. "What a great catch today." The blue tint and the huge sword strapped on his back was unmistakable; Hoshigaki Kisame. If there was anything she realized of Akatsuki, it was that their partners rarely changed. If that was Kisame, then the other must be-

"Is there something wrong, Itachi?" Kisame spoke in between swallows of the fish he held in between his gigantic hands.

Uchiha Itachi.

Suddenly realizing that her search hadn't produced Sasuke but his hated older brother, Sakura turned to make a quiet exit. "Someone is here." Sakura froze mid-step. Her fingers reached for her pouch where she knew her kunai would be without fail. Strategies began to formulate in her mind and she couldn't see any viable way she would be able to make it out of this fight alive. Going against one Akatsuki member had been a stretch but against two? That was suicide.

But Haruno Sakura was not one to go down without a fight. She would fight tooth and nail for survival.

That would've been the case if she hadn't felt someone grab her wrist. Swinging around, she was met with dark beady eyes belonging to the infamous Hoshigaki Kisame. "Well hello pinky." From behind him, Sakura could make out Itachi making his way towards her slowly. His sharingan bore down on her and before her mind can make out anything else, Sakura screamed.

"Itzal!"

In the blink of an eye, her trusty companion appeared from among the shadows and into sight. With one hand gripped to the shadow wolf's fur, and once she felt Kisame's grip slacken a little, she urged Itzal to make their great escape. Her hand was ripped forcibly and quickly from the iron grip and as she held on with her other hand, she breathed a sigh of relief. The trees flashed around her and she found herself break free from the forest in a record speed. Peering back into the direction they had left, Sakura felt her heart jump into her throat. A pair of red eyes gazed back at her, determined, and they were closing in.

"Itzal!"

_'I can feel him. I need to find a patch of darkness.' _She could feel his desperation and it would be their luck to have made it to an open field. _'Close your eyes!' _Itzal commanded and even as he raced towards the town, his eyes continued to swivel around to find an area of shadows. Even with her eyes closed, she could still tell that Itachi's suffocating presence was closing in on them.

A hand enclosed around her wrist and before she could think, her eyes snapped wide open; emerald met crimson. She tried and tried but she was mesmerized. She felt her entire being sink into the darkness and the hand around her wrist slowly disappear. In a mere blink, Sakura realized that Itzal had found darkness and had used one of his shadow portals to bring them back into town. _'Are you okay, Mistress?' _She could feel him slink back into her mind and she gave an out of breath nod, "I'm fine Itzal." But even as she spoke reassuringly, she couldn't get those red – oh so red – eyes out of her head.

She shook her head back and forth to clear the thoughts and moved away from the town entrance, towards the inn the team was located. "You shouldn't be walking around alone, let alone leave town." Hatake Kakashi was a man who followed things on his own time. He appears and disappears as he pleases so it was no surprise to Sakura that he was here. What did surprise her was that he hadn't shown up sooner.

"I've never thought of you as a stalker, Hatake-san." Sakura brushed past him, making sure their shoulders crashed along the way. "Or are you my new shadow?" Sakura scoffed. "I'm a big girl now. I can take care of myself."

A hand shot out and grabbed her arm, halting her in her tracks. Emerald eyes glared at the hand touching her before it changed course and glared into the lone eye of her ex-sensei. "You can take care of yourself but if you ran into Sasuke, you need backup. You're also under scrutiny of the Elders, you can't afford to make any mistake. I'm only trying to-" Before Kakashi could finish, Sakura whipped her arm out of his grip. "Stop telling me what to do, Kakashi. You had the chance to 'show me the right path' when I was your student, but not anymore. I'm not that little girl anymore." If Kakashi didn't understand what she was saying, her eyes certainly got the message across. And he stood, stunned, as his favorite female student - ex-student - walked away from him. Their relationship had been shaky ever since she acquired that cursed demon, but it seemed as if it was deteriorating at a faster rate every day. Running his fingers through his hair and gazing up at the moon, Kakashi began to wonder if he had done his job at all.

Had he truly fulfilled his job as their sensei and tried his hardest to set them on the right path? Had he failed them instead? He knew that he had gone into the job, as their sensei, with one objective in mind: to tune the lone Uchiha's skill. He owe that much to his deceased comrade, Obito. He admit that he overlooked his other two students, whom had actually been the ones with their head screwed on right, but it had worked out in the end. Naruto had Jiraya and was under his tutelage while Tsunade took Sakura under her wings as well. Sakura had found her calling as a medic-nin and had blossomed. She could hold her own in a fight and was no longer relying on others. But even so, there had always been a small part of him that felt that he had failed them. If Jiraya never came along or if Tsunade never trained Sakura, where would they be now?

By the time he got back to the inn, everyone was already gathered in the room he shared with Neji. All eyes swiveled to him, some with glares and others exasperated, before they switched back to the pink head standing in front of Neji. "I'm trying to tell you, _Captain_, that the Akatsuki are camped outside the town. It is Itachi and Kisame, meaning that Sasuke should be either on his way or nearby." Sakura explained, "We can always assume that either Itachi will lure Sasuke out or Itachi is keeping an eye on Sasuke. Instead of walking along the edge of the border, hoping to pick up something, I think we should head in the direction Itachi and Kisame are headed."

"You weren't suppose to be on your own." Neji narrowed his eyes at the revelation and he snarled at the thought of her wandering about. "You are still under suspicion and should not wandered around unguarded." His eyes locked with Hinata's, who squeaked and moved to apologize for having left Sakura on her own. "I don't need adult supervision," Sakura hissed. "What I need is for my captain to listen to what I have to say."

"Your captain can choose to listen or not to listen to what you have to say, Haruno." Neji growled back. "And right now I'm trying to decide if I should listen to the words of a demon." A standoff between Neji, the ANBU captain, and Sakura the demon wolf holder began. It was uncomfortable, inside the small room with such heated stares and words; even a small breeze through the window brought little to no comfort.

What felt like decades later, when it was in fact minutes, Neji spoke, "We leave at first light."

**A/N: Thank you Cindy Medeiros for your review! And also thank you to anyone who has this story on Alert! The next couple of chapters will much more dramatic and hopefully tearjerkers. Enjoy!**


	13. 12

**Lurking Within**  
_(Part 1 of the trilogy)_

**Chapter 12:**

"So this is what you do alone?"

Giving a quick glance towards his ex-student, Kakashi lifted his bottle of sake up in greeting. "It just so happens that you caught me on my break." Kakashi said, all the while patting the orange book in his breast pocket affectionately. Naruto gave a disgusted look directed towards the book before taking a seat next to his beloved sensei. Grabbing the full cup from his sensei's hands, Naruto took in the alcohol in one gulp. Wincing at the taste, Naruto gave a very animated response to the bitter liquid. "I will never enjoy drinking this." Kakashi gave a light laugh before taking back the stolen cup and filling it to the brim, "There is no reason for you to enjoy drinking."

Naruto gave a side glance, "And you have a reason?"

Kakashi gave a grim look in a simple reply.

"It isn't your fault."

Kakashi chuckled before throwing his head back, chugging the bitter liquid. "It has to be someone's fault. Better it be my fault than anyone else's." His calloused fingers softly molded over every groove of the porcelain cup as he became lost in his thoughts, his past, and his burdens. "She became this demon because of my incompetence. Everything I touch," Kakashi choked, "becomes tainted. She is no longer our Sakura. Our bright, warm, sweet Sakura, is lost. Instead, she is this demon. I have failed another one." He once more filled the cup to the brim, watching as the sake spilled over the edge, before allowing it to slide down his throat. The sake left a fiery trail, a small distraction before it also faded to a dull burn.

"Why do you insist she is gone?"

Naruto laid a hand on Kakashi's and gently pried the bottle out of the man's tightened grip. "She is still Sakura." Naruto tipped the bottle over and watched as the alcohol gently flowed on to the floor. "People change, Kakashi-sensei, and Sakura is no different. As we grow older, we carry more and more burdens. But that does not mean we are not the same person we were. Look beyond the superficial traits and you'll see that deep inside, in her core, Sakura is the same Sakura we've always known. She has simply grown up." Giving the empty bottle a good shake, Naruto paused with a sigh. "We've all been haunted by our own personal demons that we've never once considered hers. She gave us all her light and now she is cast into her own darkness. We took her light and warmth for granted. We always thought that she would stay the sweet innocent girl, who would perpetually bathe us in her warmth, that we never once stopped to help her with the burdens we entrusted on to her. Now that she has had enough, we think she is someone different."

"Have we turned her this way, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto looked up and at that moment, Kakashi wondered when his student became so wise. "Have we taken all her light and in return entrusted her with our own demons? Have we, once, truly thanked her?"

At that moment, all Kakashi could remember was the number of time his precious student healed him. All the times she stubbornly held on to hope and shone with the fierce light that she seemed to possess. Even during the bleakest moments, she always had a smile reserved for him. He always assumed that she was an optimist by nature. In fact he always thought that it was ironic that his team, save for Sasuke, was so optimistic about everything. Every mission that seemed impossible, every moment that seemed like it should've been the end, they managed to turn it around. His students have gave him a part of themselves, their hope. But for every moment that they were there for him, he could remember all the instances that he wasn't for them.

Naruto in need of a father figure or some sort of acceptance, rather than a disciplinarian.

Sasuke in need of not a teacher to gain power, but a mentor to make sense of his dark past.

And Sakura in need of a shoulder to lean on and guidance, not a distant mentor.

Choking on a realization, Kakashi blinked away the droplets of tears that threatened to fall. He blamed it on the alcohol. "Get some rest, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said, clamping a hand down on to his shoulder before disappearing out the bar. His eyes remained on the empty cup lingering on his hands. His hands, rough and calloused from his years serving Konoha. They never failed him, except for tonight. In the lonely bar, huddled in the corner table, Kakashi's hands failed to cover the tears that streamed down his face. In the company of his own misery, Kakashi finally reached an understanding and acceptance that he had failed his students. But among that was also clarity; it is never too late to correct for his mistakes.

* * *

As commanded, everyone was ready to leave as soon as the sun's tendrils touched the dark sky. Even Naruto, who required a herd of elephants as an alarm, was awake and ready. The idea of his missing teammate being possibly nearby was enough to motivate the blonde. After Neji issued simple orders and had their routes laid out, he reassigned Gaara as Sakura's guardian; something she was none too happy with. "Let's go." Neji nodded to the trees and everyone fell into their own formation. Naruto and Kakashi guarded the rear as Neji led the way in the front. Aside from Naruto's incessant talking, it was relatively calm. It hadn't taken Neji long to realize that it was too calm. Holding up his hand, Neji gave the proper signals to drop to a battle formation.

Not a minute too late, they were attacked.

It was a quick fight with minor injuries. Neji almost regretted even unsheathing his weapon for the small skirmish. A wet cough drew his attention a couple of feet away. Turning the shinobi around, Neji noted the insignia for Sound carved into his headband. Perhaps what the demon had said held some merit, Neji begrudgingly thought. "You're too late." The shinobi gave another wet cough. He was drowning in his own blood, Neji realized.

"Heal him." He commanded to the medic of his group.

"Excuse me?" Sakura gaped at the rough demand.

"We need more information," was the only reply that Neji gave before turning to leave.

"Orochimaru-sama has won," the injured shinobi gloated in between his spastic coughs, "the Uchiha will die by the end of this week." This made Neji pause in mid-step. Stopping Sakura from anymore healings, Neji turned to Kakashi and gave a brisk nod. Understanding the dire situation, Kakashi lifted his headband up and began his version of interrogation. "They are preparing the ritual at one of the hidden base near here. It is perhaps a three day travel away." Kakashi said after a moment or two. "This explains why Sakura saw Itachi lingering around."

"We have a new mission then," Neji pulled out a scroll from his pack and unsealed it. "We are to stop Orochimaru at all cost."

**A/N:**** Summer break from school (yay!) And the chapter I have been itching to write is next. Please leave reviews and I will update as soon as I can. **


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